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IReport 


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Educational  Commission 


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Cit£  of  Chicago 


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R.    R,    DONNELLEY    &    SONS   COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


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Compli?nents  of 


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Mayor  of  Chicago 


CHARLES    A.    MAIR 

simon  j.  Mcpherson 

BERNARD    F.    ROGERS 
JOSEPH    STOLZ 
CHARLES    M.    WALKER 


GEORGE    F.    JAMES,  Secretary. 


€ljc  <£tmcational  €ommi£gion  of  tlje 
€itp  of  <£J)kago 


Authorized  by  the  City  Council,    December,  1897 
Appointed  by  the  Mayor,   January,  1898 
Approved  by  the  Board  of  Education,    May,  1898 


WILLIAM    R.    HARPER,    Chairman 
CHARLES    ALLING 
RUDOLPH    BRAND 
CHARLES    R.    CORWITH 
GEORGE    DUDDLESTON 
LOUIS    O.    KOHTZ 
CHARLES    A.    MAIR 

simon  j.  Mcpherson 

BERNARD    F.    ROGERS 
JOSEPH    STOLZ 
CHARLES    M.    WALKER 

GEORGE    F.   JAMES,  Secretary. 


CONTENTS 


Sketch  of  the  Commission  and  Its  Work vn 

Introduction 

ARTICLE  I.     The  Organization  of  the  Board  of  Education,  .         .        .       i 

ARTICLE  II.     The  Business  Management  of  the  Board  of  Education,       .         21 

ARTICLE  III.     The  System  of  School  Supervision, 32 

ARTICLE  IV.     The  Examination,  the  Appointment,  and  the  Promotion  of 

Teachers, 58 

ARTICLE  V.     The  Elementary  Schools,  82 

ARTICLE  VI.     The  High  Schools,  98 

ARTICLE  VII.     The  Normal  School,  ...  ... 

ARTICLE  VIII.    Special  Studies, 

ARTICLE  IX.     Resident  Commissioners 

ARTICLE  X.     Text  Books, 

ARTICLE  XL     The  Evening  Schools  and  a  Free  Lecture  System,  . 
ARTICLE  XII.     Vacation  Schools  and  School  Playgrounds, 

ARTICLE  XIII.     Ungraded  Rooms  and  Schools 

ARTICLE  XIV.     The  Compulsory  Attendance  Law  and  a  Parental  School,   160 
ARTICLE  XV.     Teachers'  Institutes  and  a  Teachers'  Library,  .         .         .        165 

ARTICLE  XVI.     School  Faculties  and  Councils, 167 

ARTICLE  XVII.     The  School  Census, l69 

ARTICLE  XVIII.     School  Accommodations, x7i 

ARTICLE  XIX.     Training  for  Citizenship, x74 

ARTICLE  XX.     School  Buildings  and  Architecture, 180 


m 
129 

139 

144 
147 

152 
156 


/"APPENDIX  A.     A  Comparative  Statement  of  Salary  Schedules  and  Per 

Capita  Cost  of  Instruction 187 

/>  APPENDIX  B.     Public  Kindergartens, !92 

S  APPENDIX  C.     Commercial  Training  in  Europe  and  America,         .         .         .205 
APPENDIX  D.     The  Free  Lecture  System  in  New  York  City,  .         .        218 

APPENDIX  E.     Vacation  Schools  and  School  Playgrounds,  .        .         .221 

'  APPENDIX  F.     Compulsory  Attendance  Laws, 223 

APPENDIX  G.     Parental  Schools 225 

APPENDIX  H.    Pupil  Government 227 

APPENDIX  I.      The  Legal  Status  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Education,      230 
APPENDIX  J.      Bibliographical  References  on  City  School  Systems,  232 

APPENDIX  K.    A  Proposed  School  Law  for  Chicago 234 

APPENDIX  L.     Advisers  to  the  Chicago  Educational  Commission,  .        241 

INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS, 243 

INDEX  OF  NAMES, 245 


^>fietct)  of  t^e  Commtegtou  ana  its  anotfi. 

On  December  6th,  1897,  the  following  communication  was  presented 
to  the  City  Council  of  Chicago : 

Mayor's  Office.        / 
December  3d.,   1897.  !• 
To  the  Honorable,  the  City  Council  : 

Gentlemen  :  That  the  system  in  operation  for  the  government  and 
supervision  of  the  public  schools  of  Chicago  is  not  giving  a  measure  of 
results  commensurate  with  the  generous  financial  resources  furnished  by 
the  people,  is  acknowledged  all  around. 

With  the  continual  growth  of  the  city,  additional  burdens  keep  coming 
to  the  door  of  the  board  of  education,  which  is  seriously  handicapped  by 
having  to  deal  with  new  conditions  and  difficult  developments  in  the  har- 
ness of  antiquated  methods. 

A  change  is  needed,  a  change  is  essential,  in  regard  to  the  educational 
and  the  business  conduct  of  the  school  system,  and  to  that  end,  I  request 
power  to  appoint  a  commission  to  consist  of  nine,  two  to  be  members  of 
the  city  council,  two  to  be  members  of  the  board  of  education,  and  five 
to  be  outside  citizens. 

The  object  of  the  appointment  of  the  commission  is  to  utilize  all  that 
is  good  in  the  present  system,  to  discard  all  that  is  defective,  and  to  apply 
new  methods  where  needed.  Yours  truly, 

Carter  H.  Harrison, 

Mayor. 

In  answer  to  this  communication,  the  city  council  authorized  the 
appointment  of  the  educational  commission,  tin  order  to  secure  fuller  rep- 
resentation, the  membership  was  afterward  increased  to  eleven.\  The  fol- 
lowing nominations  by  the  mayor  were  confirmed  by  the  city  council  in 
January,  1898:  Charles  Ailing,  Rudolph  Brand,  Charles  R.>  Corwith. 
George  Duddleston,  William  R.  Harper,  Louis  O.  Kohtz,  Charles  A.  Mair, 
Simon  J.  McPherson,  Bernard  F.  Rpgers,  Joseph  Stolz  and  Charles  M. 


Walker.  The  commission  as  thus  constituted  was  approved  by  the  board 
of  education  in  May,  1898. 

The  commission  was  chosen  to  represent  the  various  interests  of  the 
city  and  various  points  of  view  in  reference  to  its  system  of  public  instruc- 
tion. Three  of  the  commissioners  were  members  of  the  city  council ;  two 
were  members  of  the  board  of  education,  and  two  more  had  served  as 
members  of  that  body.  The  commission  was  non-partisan  and  non- 
sectarian,  including  republicans  and  democrats  and  men  affiliated  with 
a  number  of  religious  bodies.  An  unprejudiced,  critical,  but  sym- 
pathetic attitude  toward  the  public  schools  was  guaranteed  by  a  member- 
ship, composed  partly  of  those  who  had  received  their  early  training-  in 
these  schools,  and  partly  of  those  whose  education  had  been  grained  under 
different  conditions. 

After  one  or  two  preliminary  conferences  the  commission  chose  William 
R.  Harper  chairman,  appointed  George  F.  James  secretary  and  adopted  a 
formal  plan  of  work.  /To  determine  the  scope  of  their  investigations,  the 
members  issued  first  a  letter  of  inquiry  covering  various  phases  of  school 
affairs.  This  letter  was  widely  circulated  among  all  classes  of  the  commun- 
ity, insuring  to  all  who  desired,  an  opportunity  to  offer  suggestions.  The 
commission  secured,  further,  the  active  co-operation  of  fifty  prominent  edu- 
cators of  the  country,  who,  by  personal  interview  and  by  letter,  gave  their 
aid  in  settling  on  recommendations  for  the  report.  The  various  subjects  in 
reference  to  which  suggestions  were  received,  were  classified  and  made 
topics  for  discussion  at  successive  weekly  meetings.  Consideration  was 
given  at  each  meeting  to  the  specific  criticisms  and  suggestions  of  those 
acquainted  with  the  Chicago  schools,  to  a  review  of  the  experience  in  other 
cities,  and  to  the  advice  of  those  best  qualified  to  speak  with  authority.  The 
commission  was  assisted  in  its  work  by  the  conclusions  of  similar  commit- 
tees in  other  cities,  particularly  in  New  York  and  Boston,  by  papers  on  city 
school  problems,  read  before  state  and  national  meetings  of  teachers, 
and  by  the  report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  of  the  National  Educa- 
tional Association.  The  active  co-operation  of  the  Chicago  board  of  edu- 
cation, the  corps  of  school  superintendents,  principals  and  teachers,  and 
the  recommendations  of  various  individuals  and  clubs,  enabled  the  commis- 
sion to  consider  every  phase  of  opinion  about  the  school  system,  before 
formulating  its  report/ 

After  five  months  of  work,  the  members  held  continuous  sessions  at 
Highland  Park  for  one  week,  and  as  a  result,  drew  up  a  series  of  "Sug- 
gestions for  the  Improvement  of  a  City  School  System."  This  pamphlet 
was  privately  printed  and  submitted  to  those  interested  in  public  schools, 


both  here  and  in  other  cities.  In  this  way  the  commission  secured  more 
definite  opinions  and  was  enabled  during  the  summer  and  autumn  to 
review  still  more  carefully  the  general  scope  of  the  report. 

In  November,  continuous  sessions  were  again  held,  this  time  in  Mil- 
waukee, at  which  the  first  draft  of  the  report  was  read  and  reviewed. 
During  December  the  report  was  again  revised.  Aside  from  the  con- 
tinuous sessions  held  in  the  spring  and  in  the  autumn,  the  commission  gave 
thirty  meetings  to  its  work,  in  addition  to  which,  much  was  accomplished 
through  the  labors  of  special  sub-committees.  The  members  of  the  com- 
mission were  greatly  assisted  in  their  later  work  of  drafting  a  proposed 
school  law,  by  the  kind  co-operation  of  an  auxiliary  legal  committee,  com- 
posed of  William  G.  Beale,  Otto  Gresham,  Frank  J.  Loesch,  Donald  L. 
Morrill  and  James  Rosenthal. 


3jntroDuctovp» 

To  the  Honorable  Carter  H.  Harrison,  Mayor,  and  to  the  Honor- 
able, the  City  Council,  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 
Gentlemen  :  Your  educational  commission  herewith  submits  recom- 
mendations in  regard  to  the  administration  of  the  public  school  system 
of  Chicago.  This  study  was  undertaken  at  your  request,  and  we  have 
endeavored  to  accomplish  it  in  a  spirit  of  thoroughness  and  of  careful 
impartiality.  Our  recommendations  are  the  outcome  of  a  year's  study  off 
the  local  situation  and  of  a  careful  comparison  of  our  school  system  with  ] 
those  of  other  cities.  The  difficulties  and  defects  which  we  have  found 
in  Chicago  are  not  peculiar  to  this  city,  and  we  have  accordingly  given 
much  attention  to  the  various  reforms  which  have  been  instituted  and  have 
proved  effective  elsewhere.  In  this  work  we  have  been  fortunate  in  secur- 
ing the  hearty  co-operation  of  leading  educational  experts  of  the  coun- 
try and  have  been  cordially  assisted  by  those  most  familiar  with  the  school 
affairs  of  Chicago.  The  members  of  the  board  of  education  have  been  in 
entire  sympathy  with  the  aim  of  the  commission  and  have  offered  many 
suggestions  of  great  value.  Our  report,  therefore,  embodies  proposals 
which,  it  is  fair  to  think,  will  lead  to  an  improvement  in  the  public  school 
system  of  this  city. 

In  reviewing  the  history  of  the  past  few  years,  we  have  been  impressed, 
first  of  all,  with  the  high  average  of  ability,  integrity  and  public  spirit 
found  in  the  members  of  the  board  of  education.  The  city  has  certainly 
not  been  served  in  any  department  by  men  superior  to  the  board  of  educa- 
tion in  these  particulars.  A  similar  statement  may  fairly  be  made  with 
reference  to  the  officers  of  the  board,  for  these  have  been,  in  general,  com- 
petent and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty.  The  business  affairs  of 
the  schools  have  usually  been  managed,  as  far  as  we  can  judge,both  econom- 
ically and  honestly.  The  teaching  force  of  Chicago  compares  favorably 
with  that  of  other  large  cities.  Public  sentiment  has  justified  a  liberal 
policy  in  the  equipment  and  maintenance  of  the  schools,  and  we  have 
already  accomplished  results  of  which  the  city  may  be  proud. 


Your  commission  does  not  believe,  however,  that  the  present  situation 
meets  fully  the  needs  and  rights  of  the  public.  Chicago  has  spent  millions 
of  dollars  and  is  spending  each  year  additional  millions  for  public  instruc- 
tion. The  board  of  education  should  not  merely  be  of  high  general  average, 
but  should  include  only  men  of  the  highest  character  and  enlightenment. 
The  business  affairs  should  be  administered  by  the  officers  with  integrity, 
of  course,  but  also  under  regulations  which  will  constrain  the  greatest 
economy  and  efficiency.  The  teachers  of  Chicago  should  be  capable  and 
sincere,  but  they  should,  in  addition,  be  given  every  inducement  to  profes- 
sional progress  and  continuous  self-development.  Public  sentiment  in  this 
city  has  always  demanded  good  school  buildings  and  good  teaching,  but  the 
full  possibilities  of  the  system  of  public  instruction  have  never  yet  been 
impressed  upon  the  people. 

The  machinery  of  the  school  system  requires  radical  improvement^ 
for  while  Chicago  has  good  schools,  she  has  them  m  despite  of  grave 
defects  in  the  present  plan  of  administration.  Although  the  board  of  edu- 
cation has  usually  acted  in  the  interests  of  the  people,  this  has  come  from 
no  lack  of  opportunity  or  even  of  suggestion  to  act  otherwise,  but  because 
successive  mayors  have  generally  appointed  worthy  men  and  women  to 
fill  these  places.  The  joint  authority  of  the  city  council  and  the  board 
of  education  in  the  purchase  of  sites  and  the  erection  of  buildings  has 
;  caused  undue  delay  and,  in  some  cases,  has  aroused  public  suspicion  in  the 
matter  of  school  accommodations.  The  administration  of  school  affairs 
through  committees  of  the  board  of  education  has  proved  on  the  whole 
unsatisfactory.  On  the  business  side,  it  has  from  time  to  time  resulted  in 
the  appointment  and  retention  of  unnecessary  and  inefficient  employes,  and 
has  occasioned  unwarranted  difficulty  and  expense  in  the  securing  of  school 
supplies.  On  the  educational  side,  the  management  by  committees  has 
been  prejudicial  to  school  interests  in  the  fundamental  questions  of  the 
course  of  study,  the  text-books  and  the  training  and  appointment  of  teach- 
ers. Within  the  limits  of  the  general  policy  of  the  board  of  education,  the 
course  of  study  should  be  flexible  and  susceptible  of  frequent  revision  far 
beyond  what  is  feasible  under  the  management  by  committees  of  different 
grades  of  schools  and  of  the  various  special  studies  in  the  curriculum. 
Text-books  have  been  authorized  and  apparatus  has  been  purchased,  some- 
times without  the  recommendation  and  sometimes  against  the  protest  of  the 
officers  who  should  control  these  matters.  Pupils  have  been  admitted  to 
the  normal  school  and  have  been  graduated  from  it  without  the  approval, 
and  occasionally  contrary  to  the  expressed  judgment  of  those  competent 


to  decide.  Some  teachers  have  been  appointed  and  retained  in  opposition 
to  the  recommendations  of  those  who  should  practically  determine  all  these 
questions.  The  teachers,  as  a  body,  have  lacked  that  incentive  to  good 
work,  which  would  be  felt  through  an  equitable  schedule  of  salaries  and 
a  sound  plan  of  promotion.  These  are  vital  defects,  and  criticism  would 
have  been  heard  in  larger  measure  from  the  people,  if  an  inadequate  plan  of 
administration  had  not  left  them  in  comparative  ignorance  of  grave  weak- 
nesses in  the  present  system. 

That  the  school  machinery  of  Chicago  is  largely  defective,  is  not  a 
matter  for  surprise.  The  city  has  grown  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  in  this  depart- 
ment, as  in  some  others,  a  plan  of  administration  has  been  retained  which, 
although  good  for  a  city  of  moderate  size,  is  entirely  inadequate  for  one 
of  nearly  two  millions.  The  phenomenal  increase  of  population  has  intro- 
duced problems  which  are  all  the  more  difficult  in  proportion  as  the  increase 
came  through  the  rapid  annexation  of  outlying  and  sparsely- 
settled  territory.  The  present  large  membership  of  the  board  of  education 
resulted  partly  from  a  desire  to  give  these  newly-added  sections  representa- 
tion on  this  body.  Experience  has  shown  that  this  action  was  unwise.  A 
large  board  leads  almost  inevitably  to  a  management  by  committees  and 
thus  to  confusion  of  legislative  and  executive  functions.  Committee  man- 
agement has  imposed  upon  the  board  of  education  a  mass  of  detail  work, 
which  must  prove  exceedingly  onerous  and  distasteful  to  the  members. 
We  have  been  strongly  impressed  with  the  difficulty,  under  these  circum- 
stances, of  securing  the  services  of  the  most  able  and  public-spirited  citi- 
zens. When,  through  a  small  membership,  it  is  possible  for  each  member, 
freed  from  petty  details,  to  take  an  effective  hand  in  moulding:  the  educa- 
tional policy  of  the  city  and  to  feel  that  every  hour  of  his  work  contributes 
to  the  solution  of  the  larger  questions  of  school  administration,  the  dignity 
of  the  board  will  be  raised  in  public  estimation  and  appointment  to  the 
board  will  be  an  honor,  gladly  accepted  by  that  high  class  of  men  and 
women,  whom  the  vital  interests  of  the  people  demand  for  these  positions. 
We  respectfully  recommend,  therefore,  legal  provision  for  a  small  member- 
ship of  the  board  and  for  a  distinct  differentiation  of  legislative  and  execu- 
tive work.  The  important  question  of  securing  promptly  and  economi- 
cally adequate  school  accommodations  for  all  the  children,  and  especially 
for  the  younger  children  of  school  age,  will  not  be  satisfactorily  solved  in 
Chicago  until  the  board  of  education  has  the  power  to  condemn  and  to  pur- 
chase sites  and  to  erect  buildings.  We  urge,  therefore,  that  this  power 
be  secured  for  the  board  at  the  earliest  possible  date. 


The  superintendent  of  schools  should  be  granted  much  larger  powers ; 
he  should  have  not  only  the  initiative,  but  the  determination  of  all  purely 
educational  questions,  his  action  being  subject  to  revision  by  a  majority 
of  the  board  of  education.  The  arrangement  of  the  course  of  study,  the 
choice  of  text-books  and  of  apparatus,  the  examination,  the  appointment, 
the  promotion  and  the  dismissal  of  teachers  are  duties  which  properly 
devolve  upon  him,  acting  with  his  assistants  and  with  the  examining  board, 
and  subject  to  overruling  by  the  board. 

The  business  manager  should  be  capable  of  formulating  sound  busi- 
ness methods  in  his  department  and  should  be  left  free  in  the  application 
of  these  to  the  executive  work  which  is  assigned  him.  While  held 
strictly  to  account  by  the  board  of  education,  he  should  enjoy  by  law  a  free- 
dom, similar  to  that  of  the  executive  head  in  any  well-conducted  business 
enterprise.  Subject  to  the  civil  sen-ice  rules  of  the  board,  he  should  have 
the  appointment  and  the  removal  of  his  subordinates,  and  he  should  have 
the  control  of  all  the  details  of  his  department. 

The  importance  of  securing  the  best  possible  teaching  in  the  public 
schools  is  generally  recognized.  To  achieve  a  further  improvement  in  this 
particular,  we  have  recommended  that  the  course  of  study  in  the  normal 
school  be  lengthened  from  one  year  to  two  years,  that  a  physical  examina- 
tion be  demanded  of  all  who  seek  appointment  as  teachers,  that  the  require- 
ments in  scholarship  and  professional  training  be  continually  advanced  in 
fair  relation  to  the  increasing  opportunities  for  preparation  which  are  now 
afforded,  and  that  these  opportunities  be  further  widened  through  the 
maintenance  of  teachers'  institutes  and  through  the  establishment  of  a  pro- 
fessional library  for  free  use  by  the  teaching  body.  A  spirit  of  enthusiasm 
and  of  progress  can  be  best  engendered  among  the  teachers  by  proper 
recognition  of  successful  effort,  and  we  urge,  therefore,  the  adoption  of  a 
schedule  of  salaries  and  a  scheme  of  promotion,  based  not  merely  on  length 
of  service  but  also  on  proved  efficiency  and  advancing  scholarship. 

The  course  of  study  in  the  Chicago  schools  attests  a  general  public 
desire  for  a  broad  and  liberal  training  of  our  children.  At  present,  there 
is  need  of  careful  revision  in  order  to  secure  better  correlation  and 
sequence.  The  time  devoted  to  several  studies  may  well  be  reduced ;  this 
action  will  permit  the  introduction,  at  but  slightly  increased  expense,  of  new 
subjects,  more  particularly  of  "constructive"  work  throughout  the  ele- 
mentary schools.  The  number  of  required  text-books  may.  we  think,  be 
properly  reduced  and  a  wider  latitude  allowed  in  this  matter  to  the  princi- 
pals and  teachers  in  different  portions  of  the  city. 


We  have  recommended,  also,  the  general  introduction  of  kindergartens, 
an  extension  of  the  educational  opportunities  afforded  in  the  evening 
schools  and  the  incorporation  of  the  vacation  school  idea  in  the  public 
system.  Recognizing  the  great  value  to  the  city  of  the  system  of  secondary 
education,  we  have  suggested  that  it  be  strengthened  through  the  estab- 
lishment of  additional  manuaHraining  schools  and  of  a  commercial  high 
school.  Chicago  has  in  its  school" property  a  magnificent  plant  which  can,x 
"we  think,  be  more  fully  utilized  at  slightly  greater  cost,  by  the  open-  j 
ing  of  school-yards  as  play-grounds  throughout  the  year  and  by  the  use 
of  school  buildings  as  popular  educational  centers,  especially  through  a 
system  of  free  evening  lectures  for  adults. 

The  development  and  recognition  of  organized  and  representative  asso- 
ciations of  teachers  will  focus  the  experience  and  thought  of  five  thousand 
Chicago  teachers  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  public  school  system  and 
will  prove  a  wholesome  stimulus  to  the  teachers  themselves ;  we  have  ac- 
cordingly commended  the  establishment  of  teachers'  faculties  and  coun- 
cils, with  the  right  of  direct  recommendation  to  the  board.  We  have  been 
impressed,  finally,  with  the  desirability  of  bringing  the  people  into  closer 
touch  with  school  affairs  in  order  to  secure  more  general  and  more  intelli- 
gent support  for  the  public  system  of  instruction.  A  valuable  means  to 
this  end  has  been  found,  we  think,  in  the  suggestion  of  resident  commis- 
sioners, whose  function  it  shall  be  to  represent  the  people  in  the  oversight 
of  the  schools  in  various  sections  of  the  city. 

The  report  which  we  have  the  honor  now  to  present,  recommends,  as 
has  been  seen,  some  radical  changes  in  school  administration.  They 
require  and  should  receive  very  careful  consideration  and  discussion.  The 
interests  which  are  here  involved  are  so  weighty  and  are  of  such  supreme 
import  to  the  community,  that  hasty  and  inconsiderate  action  in  these 
matters  is  above  all  to  be  deprecated.  We  hope,  therefore,  that  the  system 
of  school  management,  which  is  here  proposed,  will  be  entirely  and  thor- 
oughly reviewed,  before  any  attempt  is  made  to  embody  its  provisions  in  j 
the  school  law,  applying  to  our  city.  The  plan  of  procedure  that  your 
commission  adopted,  has  already  attracted  the  attention  of  the  com- 
munity to  many  of  these  questions  and  public  interest  has  been,  we  are  glad 
to  see,  strongly  aroused.  The  determination  of  some  of  our  recommenda- 
tions lies  in  the  province  of  the  board  of  education,  which  has  always  shown 
itself  quick  to  respond  to  public  opinion.  Some  of  the  most  important  of 
them  call  for  the  favorable  action  of  the  state  legislature  and  for  the  pur- 
poses of  convenient  and  thorough  discussion,  we  have  incorporated  the 


substance  of  these  in  a  draft  of  a  provisional  bill,  which  has  been  made, 
under  our  direction,  by  an  auxiliary  legal  committee,  and  which  is  appended 
to  this  report.  | 

Respectfully  submitted, 

William  R.  Harper,  Chairman. 
Charles  Alling. 
Rudolph  Brand. 
Charles  R.  Corwith. 
George  Duddleston. 
Louis  O.  Kohtz. 
Charles  A.  Mair. 
Simon  J.  McPherson. 
Bernard  F.  Rogers. 
George  F.  James,  Joseph  Stolz. 

Secretary.  Charles  M.  Walker. 


5Tl)f  (Drgam'jatt'on  of 
tijr  Uoarti  of  IStiuratton 


ARTICLE   I 


Your  Commission  respectfully  makes  the  following  recommendation 
jn  reference  to  the  organization  of  the  Board  of  Education  : 

SECTION  I. — THAT  THE  BOARD  BE  APPOINTED,  AS  AT  PRESENT,  BY  THE 
MAYOR,   WITH  THE  CONCURRENCE  OF  THE   COUNCIL  J 

SECTION    2. THAT    THE    NUMBER    OF    MEMBERS    BE    CHANGED    FROM    21 

TO   II; 

SECTION    3. THAT    THE    TERM    OF    OFFICE   OF    MEMBERS    OF    THE    BOARD 

BE  FOUR  YEARS,  TWO  TO  BE  APPOINTED  ONE  YEAR,  AND  THREE  EACH 
OF  THE   SUCCEEDING  THREE  YEARS  ; 

SECTION  4. THAT  THE  FUNCTION  OF  THE  BOARD  BE  CHIEFLY  LEGISLA- 
TIVE, THE  EXECUTIVE  WORK  BEING  DELEGATED  TO  THE  SUPERIN- 
TENDENT AND  THE  BUSINESS   MANAGER; 

SECTION  5. — THAT  ONLY  THREE  STANDING  COMMITTEES  BE  APPOINTED, 
VIZ.,  A  COMMITTEE  ON  EDUCATIONAL  AFFAIRS,  A  COMMITTEE  ON  BUSI- 
NESS  AFFAIRS,   AND  A   COMMITTEE   ON    FINANCIAL   AFFAIRS, 

SECTION  6. THAT  THE  BOARD  BE  GIVEN   POWER  TO  CONDEMN  SITES  FOR 

SCHOOL  PURPOSES  J 

SECTION  7. — THAT  THE  BOARD  BE  GIVEN  POWER,  INDEPENDENT  OF  THE 
CITY  COUNCIL,  TO  PURCHASE  SITES  AND  CONSTRUCT  BUILDINGS  J 

SECTION    8. THAT  PROVISION   BE   MADE  IN  THE  LAW  FOR  THE  REMOVAL 

OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  BOARD,  BUT  ONLY  FOR  CAUSE  AND  UPON  WRITTEN 
CHARGES  ; 

SECTION  9. — THAT  A  FORMAL  TITLE  BE  GIVEN  MEMBERS  OF  THE  BOARD, 
AND  THAT  THE  EXACT  TIME  AND  THE  CONDITIONS  OF  THEIR  APPOINT- 
MENT BE   CLEARLY   INDICATED   IN   THE   SCHOOL   LAW. 


SECTION    I. THAT  THE   BOARD   BE   APPOINTED,   AS   AT   PRESENT,    BY   THE 

MAYOR,  WITH  THE  CONCURRENCE  OF  THE  COUNCIL. 

The  function  of  a  board  of  education,  acting  under  the  authority  of 
the  state  law,  is  to  represent  the  people  in  the  establishment  and  main- 

1 


t&iattce  of  the  public  school  system^1)  The  method  of  selecting  its  mem- 
bers lias-  varied  widely  under  different  conditions.  In  the  large 
majority  of  cases  the  members  are  elected  directly  by  the  people,  either 
by  general  ticket  or  by  particular  wards  or  districts.  (2)  The  tendency, 
however,  in  school  systems  of  large  cities  has  been  to  substitute  for  this 
elective  plan  selection  by  appointment. (3)  This  has  taken  many  forms. 
In  one  city,  the  board  of  education  is  a  part  of  the  city  council,  its 
members  being  appointed  by  the  president  of  that  body.(4)  In  another, 
the  board  of  education  is  appointed  partly  by  the  city  council  and  partly 
by  the  governor  of  the  state.  (5)  In  a  third,  the  school  authorities  are 
named  by  the  judges  of  a  superior  court (6),  while  in  many  cities  the 
mayor  is  ex-officio  chairman  or  member  of  the  board.  Such  divergences 
from  the  general  elective  plan,  show  the  desire  to  free  the  school  system 

(!)  "The  American  school  system  is  largely  founded  on  the  idea  of  local 
competency  in  the  management  of  educational  affairs ;  hence  the  most  important 
factor  in  school  systems  is  found  in  the  character  of  the  school  boards,  and  there 
is  no  one  problem  connected  with  the  economy  of  these  systems  so  important 
and  so  difficult  of  solution  as  that  of  securing  competent  school  boards.  In 
Prussia  they  say,  'As  is  the  teacher,  so  is  the  school'  In  Holland  they  say,  'As 
your  inspector  is,  so  is  your  school.'  With  us  it  would  be  more  fundamentally 
true  to  say,  'As  is  your  school  board,  so  are  your  schools.'  " — "City  School  Sys- 
tems," p.  14,  by  John  D.  Philbrick. 

(2)  "The  experience  of  large  systems  seems  to  favor  an  appointive  system, 
but  in  nine-tenths  of  the  school  districts  of  the  United  States  the  elective  system 
will  probably  be  continued."— E.  E.  White,  American  School  Board  Journal, 
February,  1898. 

"I  think  the  local  or  ward  system  of  election  to  school  boards  altogether  bad. 
It  brings  to  the  front  obscure  men ;  has  made  memberships  on  the  board  the 
lowest  round  on  the  political  ladder,  and  in  some  cases  has  been  the  cause  of  a 
special  form  of  corruption  which  I  will  not  here  describe.  I  consider  a  far 
better  method  to  be  election  on  a  ticket  at  large,  which  secures  better  men.  For 
instance,  in  my  own  city,  Worcester,  Mass.,  the  local  or  ward  system  prevails, 
whereas  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  election  on  a  ticket  at  large  prevails,  and  the 
effect  is  reflected  in  a  very  vivid  way  in  the  condition  of  the  schools  of  the  two 
cities.  Better  than  the  ward  system  is  the  system  of  appointment  by  the  mayor. 
In  most  cases  where  this  plan  has  been  tried,  the  mayor  has  felt  compelled  to  rise 
above  politics  and  appoint  the  best  man.  Whether  this  would  work  in  a  large 
city,  however,  I  have  some  doubt.  A  favorable  illustration  where  it  has  worked 
well  for  a  long  time  is  Yonkers,  N.  Y.,  while  Cleveland,  Ohio,  illustrates  the 
same  principle,  but  in  a  very  different  form." — G.  Stanley  Hall,  President  Clark 
University. 

In  thirteen  out  of  twenty-three  of  the  larger  representative  cities  of  the 
country,  the  board  of  education  is  even  now  elected  by  the  people. 

(3)  For  instance,  in  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Chicago. 

(4)  Buffalo. 

(5)  New  Orleans. 

(6)  Philadelphia. 


from  connection  with  local,  state  or  national  politics.  (7)  That  this  result 
cannot  be  easily  secured,  is  clearly  seen  in  the  variety  of  solutions  proposed. 
The  election  of  school  boards  at  the  same  time  with  either  town  or  city  offi- 
cers has  proved  an  excellent  plan  in  small  communities.  Even  the  election 
of  the  members  of  the  board  by  wards  does  not  entail  to  the  same  extent, 

(7)  "The  aim  of  the  most  intelligent  friends  of  our  schools  has  been  to  sepa- 
rate their  administration  as  far  as  practicable  from  the  influence  of  party  politics. 
In  this  direction,  however,  much  remains  to  be  desired.  Everywhere  there  are 
unscrupulous  politicians  who  do  not  hesitate  to  improve  every  opportunity  to 
sacrifice  the  interests  of  the  schools  to  the  purposes  of  the  political  machine. 
Here  is  found  the  source  of  the  most  general  as  well  as  the  most  serious  evil  of 
our  city  systems.  Long  ago  this  evil  became  so  grievous  in  some  of  our  largest 
cities,  that  the  election  of  school  boards  by  popular  vote  had  to  be  abandoned." — 
"City  School  Systems,"  p.  15.,  by  John  D.  Philbrick. 

"Yes,  divorce  school  boards  absolutely  from  the  contaminating  influences  of 
politics  and  sectarianism.  Non-partisan  and  non-sectarian  school  boards  are  the 
need  of  the  hour,  if  we  would  approach  the  ideal  in  school  government.  We  will 
not  then  be  humiliated  by  having  it  published  broadcast  over  the  land  that  seven 
members  of  the  school  board  were  fined  and  sentenced  to  jail  by  the  supreme 
court  of  a  state,  for  contempt  in  refusing  to  obey  the  mandate  of  said  court, 
forbidding  said  members  from  conspiring  together  to  stifle  and  thwart  the  will 
of  the  people,  in  order  to  carry  out  their  own  selfish  and  partisan  purposes. 
Non-partisan  and  non-sectarian  boards  will  never  act  thus.  I  speak  from  long 
expedience  along  this  line,  as  I  am  a  member  of  a  board  that  has  been  thus 
constituted  for  more  than  twenty-five  years.  I  am  well  aware  that  it  requires 
constant  care  and  attention  to  maintain  a  board  upon  this  basis,  but  the  result 
will  more  than  repay  the  labor.  You  will  have  to  combat  the  efforts  of  scheming 
politicians,  who  are  ever  on  the  alert  to  obtain  control  of  the  school  management, 
as  they  well  know  that  it  can  be  made  a  Corliss  engine  of  power,  if  so  directed, 
to  advance  a  man's  political  ambition." — R.  L.  Y eager,  President  Kansas  City 
School  Board,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1896,  p.  976. 

"***I  would  also  speak  of  a  danger  that  threatens  our  public  school  system, 
and  that  is,  the  tendency  to  allow  political  influence  to  encroach  upon  the  duties 
and  authorities  of  those  who  have  been  appointed  to  direct  the  educational  affairs 
of  our  city.  While  I  think  that  these  influences  are  not  so  strong  in  Chicago 
as  they  are  in  some  of  the  other  large  cities,  still  the  tendency  is  growing  toward 
the  exercise  of  political  influence  in  the  management  of  our  schools.  I  need 
hardly  say  how  demoralizing  this  practice  is,  both  to  teachers  and  to  employes. 
In  my  experience  on  the  board,  I  have  found  many  teachers  and  employes  who 
evidently  had  more  faith  in  their  political  influence  for  promotion  and  retention 
than  they  had  in  doing  their  work  well  and  earning  favors  by  merit  alone.  The 
future  welfare  and  usefulness  of  the  public  schools  of  this  country  demand  that 
they  should  be  kept  entirely  free  from  influence  of  any  kind  that  would  in  any 
way  lessen  the  efficiency  of  the  teaching  or  the  management  of  the  schools." — 
Louis  Nettelhorst,  Report  of  President,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1893. 

"The  affairs  of  the  school  board  should  be  wholly  separated  from  municipal 
business  and  the  school  organization  should  have  no  connection  whatever  with 
municipal  politics.  There  is  no  ground  for  any  connection  between  the  two. 
The  public  school  system  rests  upon  the  taxing  power  of  the  state  and  that  is 
wholly  within  the  control  of  the  law-making  power.  The  state  is  bound  to  see 
that  schools  are  maintained  in  every  part  of  the  state.  The  school  system  is 
a  state  system  administered  in  the  American  fashion  through  representatives 
chosen  by  the  people  in  their  local  assemblages,  or  in  any  other  way  the  state 
may  direct.  But  these  officers  do  not  cease  to  be  representatives  of  a  state 
system,  and  there  is  every  reason  why  their  tenure  and  their  powers  should  be 


under  these  circumstances,  the  evil  results  which  are  apparent  in  some 
of  our  larger  cities.  With  increased  population,  however,  election  by 
>wards  has  generally  proved  defective (s)  ;  for  it,  has  been  substituted  in 
our  larger  cities,  the  election  by  general  ticket  of  school  trustees  to  rep- 

wliolly  independent  of  municipal  boards  and  officers." — "The  Crucial  Test,"  by 
Andrew  S.  Draper. 

"The  board  should  be  selected  without  any  reference  to  politics,  religion  or 
the  locality  from  which  the  member  comes.  Of  the  21  men  appointed  by  Mayor 
Strong,  in  New  York,  the  politics  of  15  are  still  unknown  to  the  great  mass 
of  people  connected  with  the  school  system."— Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  on  "City 
Schools"  (from  address  in  Boston,  not  published). 

"Ward  politics  is  the  great  bugbear  of  the  city  law-maker,  and  any  amount  of 
inventive  genius  has  been  exercised  to  devise  a  way  of  choosing  school  boards 
that  would  make  it  impossible  for  the  ward  boss  to  interfere.  Incompetent 
principals  and  teachers  chosen  to  •encourage'  political  henchmen;  contracts 
corruptly  given  to  fatten  the  treasuries  of  the  partisan  organizations:  assess- 
ments of  teachers  for  campaign  funds,  unseemly  intrigue  strifes  and  bickerings 
within  the  schools  themselves  by  the  adherents  of  the  different  parties ;  the  son 
of  some  local  heeler  allowed  to  be  habitually  unruly,  to  the  detriment  of  the 
general  school  discipline,  because  the  teacher  fears  for  his  position  if  he  attempts 
to  assert  his  authority— all  these  evils  and  more  are  feared  by  those  who  have 
seen  the  results  when  local  politics  has  had  undue  influence."— James  C.  Boykin: 
in  Educational  Review,  March,  1897. 

(8)  '"The  members  of  the  school  board  should  be  representative  of  the  whole 
population  and  of  all  their  common  educational  interests,  and  should  not  be 
chosen  to  represent  any  ward  or  subdivision  of  the  territory,  or  any  party  or 
element  in  the  political,  religious  or  social  life  thereof.  Where  this  principle 
is  not  enforced  the  members  will  feel  bound  to  gain  what  advantage  they  can 
for  the  sub-district  or  special  interests  they  represent;  bitter  contests  will  ensue, 
and  the  common  interests  will  suffer."— Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  102  (reprint  by 
Henry  Holt  &  Co.  from  Educational  Review,  March,  1895.)  .    . 

"The  efficient  administration  of  public  schools  forbids  the  committing  of 
responsibilities  and  duties  of  boards  of  education  to  sub-district  boards.  This 
has  been  a  fatal  weakness  in  school  organization  wherever  attempted,  whether 
in  the  city  or  in  the  township.  One  board  of  education  and  only  one  should 
administer  school  affairs.  Sub-district  boards  in  townships  or  towns  have 
crippled  school  progress  in  every  state  where  they  have  been  organized.  — E.  E. 
White,  in  American  School  Board  Journal,  February,  1898. 

"The  evil  of  this  is  apparent.  Its  most  striking  evidence  is  in  the  struggle 
for  money  whenever  an  appropriation  is  to  be  obtained  for  any  particular  pur- 
pose, especially  for  school  buildings.  In  this  city  now.  for  instance,  a  large 
section  is  deprived  of  a  very  much  needed  school  building  because  the  demo- 
cratic common  council  and  the  republican  school  board  could  not  agree  as  to 
the  location  of  the  school,  whether  in  the  democratic  fourteenth  ward  or  in  the 
republican  thirteenth  ward.  This  seems  almost  too  absurd  to  be  true,  but  it  is, 
and  it  also  suggests  the  third  evil,  of  which  I  shall  speak  later.  Members  repre- 
senting wards  also  take  not  only  a  great  interest  in  their  wards,  but  often 
interfere  unduly  in  the  matter  of  appointment  and  transfer.  In  the  past  rather 
more  than  now,  the  appointment  of  teachers  was  considered  a  perquisite  of  the 
ward  commissioners,  and  it  is  readily  seen  this  power  was  a  most  influential 
political  factor.  The  commissioners  have  even  assigned  to  themselves  the  right 
to  interfere  in  matters  of  discipline.  These  are  instances  of  the  evils  almost 
invariably  connected  with  the  ward  system."— A  City  Superintendent 

4 


resent  the  city.  At  first  these  were  chosen  at  the  regular  municipal  elec- 
tions, but,  as  it  was  found  that  in  the  excitement  of  a  general  campaign 
the  interests  of  the  city  were  not  properly  respected,  a  separate  election 
of  the  members  of  the  school  board  was  frequently  ordered. (9)  This 
solution  has  been  found  in  many  cases  eminently  satisfactory.  In  a  city 
of  medium  size,  where  an  enlightened  public  sentiment  can  be  awakened, 
and  where  a  general  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  the  schools  can  be 
easily  secured,  and  where,  further,  it  is  possible  for  the  people  to  know 
intimately  the  candidates  for  this  position,  perhaps  no  better  method  can 
be  followed.  In  cities  of  the  largest  size,  such  ideal  conditions  do  not 
prevail,  and  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and 
Chicago,  with  many  other  cities,  have  successively  adopted  a  different 
plan,  by  substituting,  as  already  indicated,  the  method  of  appointment 
for  that  of  election.  In  New  York  and  Chicago,  at  least,  this  has  not 
been  a  surrender  by  the  people  of  their  direct  control  of  public  schools, 
but  rather  another  instance  of  the  general  principle  of  concentrating 
authority.     The  board  of  education  being  appointed  by  the  mayor,  the 

(9)  "The  theory  of  making  every  office  an  elective  office  is  good,  but  it  fails 
of  the  best  results,  especially  when  political  excitement  runs  high,  as  is  unfor- 
tunately too  often  the  case  in  the  cities  of  our  country.  There  is  no  office  within 
the  gift  of  the  people  which  should  be  so  thoroughly  severed  from  all  political 
complications  and  possibilities  as  that  pertaining  to  the  education  of  the  children. 
The  farther  the  board  of  education  can  be  removed  from  contingencies  of  party 
politics  the  better.  To  this  end  the  time  of  election  or  selection  should  be  as 
far  as  possible  from  the  heat  of  a  political  contest.  The  nominees  in  case  of  an 
election,  should  not  be  the  product  of  caucuses,  but  presented  by  a  committee 
representing  the  prominent  political  parties  of  the  time  in  equal  numbers  from 
each  party;  the  nominating  committee  being  selected  by  the  central  committees 
of  the  parties,  each  central  committee  naming  an  equal  portion  of  the  nominating 
committee.  There  will  then  be  implied  freedom  from  any  expressed  or  implied 
pledges,  and  no  claim  can  be  laid  on  account  of  special  service  rendered  in  the 
election.  If  this  prove  impracticable,  I  can  see  no  other  feasible  method  of  a 
popular  election." — /.  L.  Pickard,  in  Education,  September,  1883. 

"When  men  are  elected  on  a  general  ticket,  it  is  almost  always  the  case  that 
school  board  positions  are  looked  upon  as  the  tail-end  of  the  ticket.  Men  who 
fail  to  receive  nominations  for  other  positions,  regarded  by  party  managers  as 
more  responsible  or  more  lucrative,  are  given  school  board  nominations  as  a 
consolation  prize.  Then  in  the  board,  members  play  for  partisan  advantage 
continually,  while  the  school  suffers.  In  our  city  this  year,  the  election  resulted 
in  a  tie — fifteen  democrats  and  fifteen  republicans.  The  organization  of  the  board 
was  delayed  for  several  weeks  while  the  two  parties  were  trying  to  hit  upon 
some  mutually  acceptable  division  of  the  spoils.  An  attempt  was  made  to  treat 
all  official  positions,  including  that  of  the  superintendent  of  schools,  as  party 
spoils.  Last  year  the  election  of  a  primary  supervisor  was  held  up  for  two 
months,  because  the  board  standing  sixteen  to  fourteen,  and  one  of  the  sixteen 
being  absent,  the  minority  declined  to  concur  in  the  election,  hoping  thereby 
to  gain  some  partisan  advantage." — A  City  Superintendent. 


city  administration  is  thus  made  directly  responsible  for  the  con- 
dition of  the  free  school  system.  (10)  The  Philadelphia  idea  of  appoint- 
ment by  the  judges  has  the  merit  of  taking  the  schools  out  of  politics  to 
a  certain  extent,  but  involves  a  distinct  danger  by  imposing  upon  the 
judiciary  duties  foreign  to  its  members,  and  liable  in  many  ways  to  lessen 
their  efficiency  in  the  discharge  of  their  proper  functions.  In  the  case 
of  New  Orleans,  the  selection  of  a  part  of  the  board  by  the  governor 
is  a  recognition  of  the  supreme  authority  of  the  state  in  the  administra- 
tion of  schools;  but  this  system  has  the  appearance  of  a  shirking  on  the 
part  of  the  people  of  a  responsibility  properly  devolving  upon  them.  The 
method  followed  in  Buffalo,  of  leaving  the  choice  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion to  the  city  council,  would  be  an  admissible  plan  in  American  cities 
if  that  body  always  represented  the  best  interests  of  the  community  and 
if  there  were  not  the  danger  that  the  members  of  the  council,  in  the  mul- 
tiplicity of  their  duties,  would  in  some  way  neglect  or  act  contrary  to  the 
welfare  of  the  schools. 

If,  however,  the  board  of  education  is  not  to  be  directly  elected  by 
the  people,  (a  plan  to  be  avoided  in  Chicago,  for  the  reasons  mentioned,) 
the  experience  of  other  cities,  as  well  as  the  history  of  the  public  school 
system  of  this  city,  justifies  the  appointment  of  the  board  of  education 
by  the  mayor.  (u)  This  plan,  moreover,  is  in  harmony  with  the  prin- 
ciple of  concentration  of  authority  and  responsibility.  The  mayor  above 
all  represents  the  entire  city,  and  nowhere,  if  not  in  his  hands,  can  this 
duty  be  placed  with  full  expectation  that  his  action  will  meet  the  general 
sentiment  and  desires  of  the  people.  He  may  be  held  strictly  responsible 
for  the  appointments  he  makes :  and  since  citizens  are  on  no  point  more 

(10)  This  statement  is  hardly  true  of  Philadelphia,  where  the  principle  of 
democratic  government  seems  in  a  sense  to  have  been  surrendered  in  a  desire  to 
divorce  educational  affairs  from  politics. 

(U)  "If  the  members  of  the  board  are  appointed,  the  mayor  of  the  city  is 
likely  to  be  the  official  to  whom  the  power  of  appointment  may  most  safely  be 
intrusted.  The  mayor  is  not  suggested  because  his  office  should  sustain  any 
relation  to  the  school  system,  but  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  does  not  and  should 
not.  The  school  system  should  be  absolutely  emancipated  from  partisan  politics 
and  completely  dissociated  from  municipal  business.  But  we  think  that  the 
appointments  should  be  made  by  some  one  person  rather  than  by  a  board.  The 
mayor  is  representative  of  the  whole  city  and  all  its  interests.  While  not  chosen 
with  any  reference  to  the  interests  of  the  schools,  he  may  be  assumed  to  have 
information  as  to  the  fitness  of  citizens  for  particular  responsibilities  and  to 
be  desirous  of  promoting  the  educational  interests  of  the  people.  If  he  is 
given  the  power  of  appointment,  he  should  be  particularly  enjoined,  by  law, 
to  consider  only  the  fitness  of  individuals,  and  to  pay  no  regard  to  party  affilia- 
tions, unless  it  he  particularly  to  see  to  it  that  no  one  political  party  has  an  over- 
whelming preponderance  in  the  hoard." — Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  101. 


sensitive  than  in  regard  to  the  administration  of  the  school  system,  the 
mayor  can  be  reasonably  relied  upon  to  act  in  this  matter  both  conscien- 
tiously and  intelligently.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  city  administration, 
however  strongly  intrenched  in  public  esteem,  would  act  in  any  manner 
prejudicial  to  the  schools  without  incurring  quick  and  sure  condemna- 
tion. (12) 

The  objection  has  been  raised  that  the  plan  here  proposed  might  result 
in  a  partisan  board  of  education.  (13)  The  peculiar  sensitiveness,  how- 
ever, of  the  American  people  in  regard  to  their  school  system  is  more 
than  a  counterbalance  to  the  natural  inclination  of  a  mayor  to  appoint 
the  school  trustees  solely  from  among  his  political  friends. (14)     The  ad- 

(12)  If  the  reflection  which  leads  to  the  placing  in  the  hands  of  the  mayor 
the  appointment  of  the  board  of  education  be  well  founded,  the  natural  conclu- 
sion might  be  that  he  should  possess  this  power  unrestricted.  To  divide  this 
duty  between  him  and  the  city  council  by  requiring  the  confirmation  by  the 
latter  of  his  appointments,  would  seem  to  lessen  his  responsibility  without 
securing  any  additional  safeguard  to  the  integrity  of  the  educational  system. 
Municipal  history  in  the  United  States  offers  many  instances  of  mayors  who 
have  fallen  below  the  general  average  of  enlightenment  and  honesty,  and  some 
instances  of  city  councils  wholly  representative  of  the  community  in  both  par- 
ticulars, but  rarely  has  a  mayor  been  chosen  to  whom  the  people  would  not 
intrust  the  appointment  of  school  authorities  more  confidently  than  to  the 
council  which  acts  with  him.  At  this  time,  since  no  friction  has  arisen  in 
Chicago  on  account  of  this  division  of  responsibility,  there  seems  no  occasion 
for  a  change  of  policy  in  this  matter. 

C13)  It  has  not  seemed  necessary  to  discuss  here  the  advisability  of  a  bi-par- 
tisan constitution  of  the  school  board.  The  history  of  American  cities  has  yet 
to  show  that  this  offers  a  solution  of  the  difficulty  of  taking  particular  functions 
out  of  the  realm  of  politics. 

"Beware  above  all  things  of  bi-partisanship  in  the  board." — Nicholas  Mur- 
ray Butler,  on  "City  Schools." 

"Attempts  to  eliminate  partisanship  from  school  administration  by  arraigning 
an  equal  number  of  partisans  against  each  other,  have  led  to  mischievous  conse- 
quences. The  true  course,  is  to  insist  that  all  who  have  any  share  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  schools  shall  divest  themselves  of  partisanship,  whether  political 
or  religious,  in  such  management,  and  give  themselves  wholly  to  the  high  interests 
intrusted  to  them.  If  it  be  said  that  this  cannot  be  realized,  it  may  be  answered 
without  admitting  it,  that  even  if  that  were  so,  it  would  be  no  reason  why  the 
friends  of  the  schools  should  not  assert  the  sound  principle  and  secure  its  enforce- 
ment as  far  as  possible.  We  must  certainly  give  no  countenance  to  makeshifts 
which  experience  has  shown  to  be  misleading  and  expensive.  The  right  must 
prevail  in  the  end,  and  the  earlier  and  more  strongly  it  is  contended  for,  the 
sooner  it  will  prevail." — Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  102. 

(14)  "The  people  of  this  city  will  never  brook  any  subserviency  of  their 
public  school  system  to  any  clique  or  party,  and  those  who  attempt  to  thwart 
them  in  their  determination  to  intelligently  carry  out  the  requirements  of  the 
law,  will  be  swept  away  as  by  the  besom  of  destruction." — Allan  C.  Story,  Presi- 
dent's Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1889. 

7 


vantage  that  he  might  gain  for  himself  or  for  his  party  by  such  appoint- 
ments would  certainly  prove  only  temporary,  if  the  action  of  the  board 
should  show  anything  but  a  disinterested  desire  for  the  good  of  the  pub- 
lic schools.  Political  shrewdness,  if  nothing  more,  should,  in  the  long 
run,  dictate  the  selection  of  upright,  enlightened  citizens  fully  representa- 
tive of  the  best  forces  of  the  community.  (15)  By  this  is  not  meant  the 
appointment  of  men,  prominent  merely  on  account  of  their  racial,  religious, 
and,  least  of  all,  political  connections.  The  board  of  education  which 
public  sentiment  is  coming  slowly  but  surely  to  demand,  will  not  be 
made  up  of  members  of  particular  sects  or  political  parties  as  such,  or 
of  those  bound  together  by  the  natural  ties  of  a  common  birth. (16)     The 

(15)  "We  need  and  must  have,  broad-gauged,  liberal  minded,  cultured  and 
good  business  men  on  our  boards,  if  we  advance  our  schools  as  they  should  be. 
I  cannot  state  this  too  strongly.  Look  well  to  the  personal  and  moral  character 
of  the  members  of  your  school  board.  Also  separate  the  work  and  finances  of 
your  school  board  absolutely  from  the  city  government,  make  it  independent  and 
free  from  city  control  and  domination." — R.  L.  Yeager,  President,  Kansas  City 
School  Board,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1896,  p.  9/4. 

"The  idea  of  representing  nationalities  and  localities,  or  peculiarities  of  senti- 
ment, political  or  religious,  is  an  erroneous  idea  and  is  amenable  to  the  charges 
of  partiality  and  inefficiency.  The  selection  of  persons  on  the  grounds  named, 
is  sure  to  bring  into  the  board  of  education  extremists,  or  such  excessive  harmony 
as  is  found  in  log-rolling  practices,  and  will  surely  be  fatal  to  economy  and 
efficiency." — /.  L.  Pickard,  in  Education,  September,  1883. 

"Certain  qualifications  to  be  fixed  by  statute,  should  be  requisite  for  mem- 
bership. The  members  need  not  all  have  the  highest  scholastic  training,  but 
a  part  of  them  should  be  required  to  have  such  training;  not  all  of  them  need 
be  prominent  for  their  business  capacity,  but  a  part  of  them  should  be  thus 
prominent;  and  no  man  should  be  eligible  for  a  place  on  the  board  without  the 
highest  character  for  integrity  and  capacity  for  the  work.  To  define  the  quali- 
fications in  a  form  that  might  be  enacted  into  law  would  require  care,  but  it 
would  not  be  difficult ;  and  the  law  should  provide  that  the  fact  might  easily  be 
determined  in  court,  if  it  appears  that  any  person  has  been  elected  or  is  a 
candidate  for  a  place  on  this  board,  without  possessing  the  requisite  qualifications. 
It  is  a  serious  matter,  though  essential  and  even  indispensable  in  a  republic, 
to  compel  parents  to  educate  their  children  in  a  public  school  if  they  are  not 
able  to  educate  them  elsewhere ;  and  so  the  law  provides  that  no  teacher  can  be 
lawfully  employed,  or  collect  his  pay  if  employed,  without  a  certificate  of  char- 
acter and  fitness  from  the  board  of  education.  But  there  is  no  guarantee  that 
the  members  of  the  board  that  certify  to  the  teacher's  character  and  fitness 
are  themselves  fit  for  this  important  duty.  The  qualifications  of  president  and 
vice-president  of  the  United  States  and  of  senators  and  representatives  in  con- 
gress, are  defined  in  a  general  way  in  the  constitution;  and  it  is  not  too  much 
to  ask  that  the  qualifications  of  members  of  the  board  of  education  be  fixed  by 
state  law." — Albert  P.  Marble,  in  Educational  Review,  September,  1S94. 

(16)  "Many  things  during  the  last  year  have  emphasized  the  importance  of 
keeping  our  public  school  system  entirely  outside  of  sectarian  lines.  The  public 
schools  should  be  removed  as  far  as  possible  from  all  sectarian  influences.  The 
religious  bigot,  as  well  as  the  irreligious  bigot,  the  Protestant  bigot  and  the 
Catholic  bigot,  will  always  try  to  make  themselves  felt  in  public  school  instruc- 
tion or  against  it ;  but  they  should  all  be  resolutely  and  emphatically  suppressed. 
Until  they  can  view  the  working  of  the  school  system  from  the  same  secular 
standpoint  with  which  they  would  look  at  the  working  of  a  steam  engine,  their 


sense  of  a  community  already  condemns  a  mayor  who  is  swayed  in  his 
appointments  of  school  authorities  by  any  purely  personal  or  political  con- 
siderations. It  will  in  the  future  no  less  surely  condemn  the  idea  of  at- 
tempting to  secure  a  representative  school  board  by  the  allotment  of  the 
membership  to  geographical,  racial,  religious,  or  political  divisions  of  the 
city.  It  is  with  confidence  in  the  truth  of  these  considerations  that  your 
commission  recommends  giving  the  mayor  the  appointment  of  the  board 
of  education. 

SECTION    2. THAT    THE    NUMBER    OE    MEMBERS    BE    CHANGED    FROM    21 

TO  II. 

The  method  of  appointment  thus  settled,  the  question  of  the  proper* 
number  of  members  of  a  board  of  education (17)    presents  few  difficul- 

voices  ought  not  to  be  heeded,  and  they  should  certainty  be  excluded  entirely 
from  any  connection  with  it  except  so  far  as  their  children  should  reap  its 
benefits." — Louis  Nettelliorst,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, 1891. 

(17)  "I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion,  based  upon  a  long  experience  in  school 
work,  that  the  public  interests  will  be  better  subserved  if  the  membership  of  the 
board  of  education  is  reduced  in  number.  My  judgment  is  that  nine  members 
would  be  sufficient  to  perform  the  work  of  administering  the  school  affairs, 
provided  persons  are  appointed  to  membership  who  can  give  the  requisite  time 
to  the  performance  of  their  duties. 

"In  order  to  accomplish  the  best  results,  no  one  should  be  appointed  to  mem- 
bership in  the  board  who  is  not  in  a  position  to  give  the  affairs  of  the  board 
the  preference  over  his  own  private  business  interests,  that  is  to  say,  I  think 
that  a  member  of  the  board  should  make  it  his  first  duty  to  perform  the  services 
required  of  him  as  such  member,  instead  of  leaving  the  performance  of  these 
duties  to  such  time  and  opportunity  as  he  may  have  after  he  has  attended  to 
his  own  business  affairs.  Please  do  not  understand  by  this  statement  that  any- 
thing in  the  nature  of  a  criticism  of  the  manner  in  which  members  of  the  board 
of  education  have  performed  their  duties  is  intended,  but  it  necessarily  follows 
that  with  a  large  membership  the  responsibility  is  divided,  and  there  must  be 
individual  instances  where  persons  serving  as  members  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion cannot  afford  to  wholly  neglect  their  private  interests  for  the  benefit  of 
the  public. 

"It  may  be  that  with  such  requirements  as  above  indicated,  it  will  be  difficult 
to  obtain  members  for  the  board  of  education,  as  nearly  every  one  who  is  com- 
petent to  serve  upon  such  a  board  has  private  interests  which  demand  a  large 
portion  of  his  time.  If  such  should  be  the  case,  it  may  be  desirable  to  pay 
to  members  of  the  board  of  education  a  small  salary. 

"I  am  not  in  favor  of  any  change  in  the  method  of  appointing  members  of 
the  board  of  education,  and  do  not  agree  with  the  idea  which  has  recently  been 
advanced,  that  the  public  interests  would  be  better  protected  if  the  members 


ties. (1S)  The  original  conception  of  the  function  of  school  trustees  was 
that  of  the  fullest  inspection  and  supervision,  both  of  the  school  system 
and  of  its  officers,  both  of  government  and  of  instruction.  When  this  idea 
was  outgrown,  the  method  of  election  by  school  wards  or  districts  suc- 
ceeded. The  difficulties  and  dangers  inherent  in  the  second  plan  are  evi- 
dent to-day  in  the  larger  cities  of  the  country.  If  a  school  trustee  con- 
siders himself  a  representative  of  a  given  section  of  the  city,  his  efforts  are 
constantly  directed  toward  securing  for  his  constituents  the  largest  possible 
share  of  the  public  funds,  both  for  buildings  and  for  teachers.     The  result 

were  appointed  by  the  judges  of  Cook  County,  or  elected  by  the  people.  My 
observation  has  been  that  the  mayors  of  this  city  have  been  at  all  times  desirous 
of  giving  to  the  board  of  education  the  best  appointments  which  circumstances 
would  permit  them  to  make,  and  if  errors  have  been  made  in  the  selection  of 
the  members  of  the  board,  such  errors  are  no  more  numerous  than  would  doubt- 
less be  made  if  the  appointment  was  controlled  by  other  parties." — Donald  L. 
Morrill. 

(18)  "The  number  of  the  members  of  a  board  of  education  should  be  small. 
In  cities  of  less  than  500,000  inhabitants  it  should  not  be  more  than  nine  and 
preferably  not  more  than  five.  In  the  very  largest  cities  it  may  be  extended  to 
fifteen." — Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  102. 

"The  school  committee  shall  be  small  because  a  small  one  is  more  efficient,  less 
talkative,  cannot  cut  itself  up  into  small  committees,  and  cannot  apportion  out 
patronage." — Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  on  "City  Schools."     _ 

"It  should  not  be  so  large  in  numbers  as  to  become  a  public  debating  school. 
—"The  Crucial  Test,"  by  Andrew  S.  Draper  (address  in  Boston). 

"A  small  body  in  number  is  the  most  effective.  There  can  be  no  shifting  of 
responsibility.  The  entire  board  will  be  a  working  committee,  organized  in 
sections  for"  specific  work,  but  engaged  as  a  whole  upon  all  general  business 
affairs  such  as'  the  care  of  school  property,  the  erection  of  school  buildings,  the 
determination  of  salaries.  One  section  of  the  committee  should  be  especially 
delegated  to  confer  with  the  superintendent  as  to  the  qualification  of  teachers, 
and  their  assignment;  another  section  to  the  control  of  educational  funds. 
There  is  no  city  in  the  United  States  where  the  work  is  not  done  by  less  than 
ten  men.  From  five  to  nine  members  of  the  board  of  education,  selected  with 
special  reference  to  their  general  intelligence  and  business  tact,  will  be  found 
ample."—/.  L.  Pickard,  in  Education,  September,  1883. 

"The  smaller  the  school  board  the  better.  We  have  a  good  deal  of  experi- 
ence in  Pennsylvania  and  large  boards  invariably  work  badly.  I  would  feel 
inclined  to  lower  the  number  below  eleven,  except  that  perhaps  you  will  have  to 
work  a  good  deal  with  committees,  and  with  so  many  interests  perhaps  it  will 
be  as  well  to  have  as  many  as  eleven."— George  Morris  Philips,  Principal  State 
Normal  School,  West  Chester,  Pa. 

'there  is  one  New  England  town  which  had  originally  200  school  trustees- 
one  for  the  direction  and  supervision  of  each  teacher  in  the  public  school  system. 
"To  the  recommendations  submitted  in  this  article  I  yield  my  unqualified 
approval.  In  my  judgment,  this  change  in  the  organization  of  the  board  will 
greatly  simplify  and  facilitate  the  conduct  of  the  affairs  of  the  board.  At  pres- 
ent, the  organization  and  management  of  affairs  is  too  cumbersome  and  irre- 
sponsible."—£>.  R.  Cameron,  Ex-President  Chicago  Board  of  Education. 

10 


is  a  continual  strife  and  rivalry  within  the  board,  culminating-,  perhaps,  in 
a  division  of  school  funds  according  to  some  formal  principle  opposed  to 
the  proper  elasticity  of  school  administration-  No  method  has  been  more 
universally  condemned,  both  in  theory  and  practice.  The  recognition  of 
this  fact  has  already  led  to  the  reduction  in  our  largest  cities  of  the  mem- 
bership of  the  board  at  least  fifty  per  cent.(19),  for  it  is  evident  that  a  board 
can  fairly  represent  a  city  as  a  whole  with  a  much  smaller  membership 
than  would  be  necessitated  by  representation  from  each  ward.  Even  this 
change,  however,  does  not  represent  the  limit  of  this  tendency.  Within 
a  few  years  the  membership  of  the  board  in  several  cities  has  been  further 
reduced  by  one-half (20),  owing  to  a  new  conception  of  the  functions  of 
this  body.  In  brief,  this  conception  is  that  a  board  of  education  should  have 
legislative  rather  than  executive  duties.  For  the  proper  fulfillment  of 
these,  experience  has  shown  that  a  small  board  is  preferable.  Not  only 
the  tendency  in  other  states  to  reduce  the  membership,  but  also  the  prac- 
tically universal  sentiment  in  Chicago  against  the  present  workings  and 
methods  of  the  board  of  education,  lead  to  the  belief  that  a  small  board 
would  be  to  the  decided  advantage  of  the  local  school  system. 

Whether  with  the  board  of  education  thus  reduced  in  number,  it  would 
be  advisable  to  offer  members  compensation  for  their  work,  has  been  much 
debated.  (21)  Sound  arguments  seem  to  have  been  advanced  on  either  side 
from  a  theoretical  point  of  view,  and  hereafter  experience  may  show  the 
advisability  of  paying  members  ;  but  until  the  plan  of  a  smaller  membership 
has  been  tested,  there  is  no  need  to  suggest  such  action. 

(19)  To  mention  an  extreme  instance,  Boston  had  in  1875  a  school  committee 
numbering  116,  a  membership  due  to  the  idea  of  local  representation  and  result- 
ing from  successive  annexations  of  school  districts.  The  increase  from  15  to 
21  members  in  Chicago  came  from  the  same  causes. 

(20)  Baltimore  has  recently  changed  from  22  to  9,  and  St.  Louis  from  21 
to  12,  and  Boston  proposes  15  instead  of  24. 

(21)  "One  step  more:  the  office  of  member  of  a  board  of  education  should 
be  a  salaried  office.  The  important  service  rendered  is  worthy  of  compensation. 
If  any  person  elected  sees  fit  to  decline  the  salary,  it  is  an  act  of  benevolence. 
But  some  will  say,  'Does  not  the  offer  of  a  salary  prove  a  temptation  to  some 
impecunious  incompetent?'  The  temptation  is  not  half  as  great  as  that  which 
lies  concealed  in  some  prospective  perquisite,  and  an  eye  to  the  main  chance 
is  more  intent  upon  the  latent  than  the  patent  pecuniary  reward.  Again,  those 
who  select,  will  feel  more  free  to  call  their  best  friends  into  an  office  winch 
furnishes  some  return  for  their  valuable  services,  while  an  'empty  honor  will 
be  considered  sufficient  for  a  hungry  hanger-on."—/.  L.  Pickard,  in  Education, 
September,  1883. 


SECTION    3. THAT    THE    TERM    OF    OFFICE    OF    MEMBERS    OF    THE    BOARD 

BE    FOUR   YEARS,    TWO   TO   BE   APPOINTED   ONE    YFAR,    AND   THREE   EACH 
OF   THE   SUCCEEDING  THREE  YEARS. 

The  question  of  the  time  of  service  of  the  members  is  not  open  to 
doubt. (22)  Baltimore  and  St.  Louis  have  recently  doubled  the  number  of 
years  for  which  the  members  are  chosen,  and  public  opinion  in  Chicago 
seems  to  favor  for  many  reasons  a  similar  change.  The  duties  of  a  school 
trustee  imply  not  only  broad  sympathies,  educational  insight  and  intelli- 
gence, and  considerable  experience  in  affairs,  but  also  a  knowledge  of 
the  school  system  and  of  the  educational  needs  of  the  city,  which  cannot 
be  easily  gained.  The  usefulness  of  even  an  active  and  devoted  member 
of  the  board  begins  practically  only  with  his  second  year  of  service,  and 
can  be  accounted  but  fairly  adequate  only  after  two  years.  This  has 
been  true  hitherto  when  the  organization  of  the  board  demanded  of  the 
individual  member  a  knowledge  of  the  details  of  school  administration. 
It  will  be  equally  true  when  there  is  demanded  of  him,  instead,  a  broad 
grasp  of  general  problems  and  a  full  comprehension  of  the  wishes  of  the 
people  of  the  city  in  regard  to  their  schools.  (23)  A  term  of  three  years  is 
manifestly  too  short.  If  the  interests  of  the  public  are  to  be  properly  served, 
four  years  is  none  too  long  a  time  for  membership.  Many  desirable  men,  it 
may  be  objected,  would  not  be  willing  to  serve  for  such  a  period ;  but  with 
a  revision  of  the  kind  of  duties  devolving  on  board  members  and  with  a 
fuller  comprehension  by  individuals  of  their  increased  usefulness  in  a 
longer  term,  your  commission  believes  that  it  will  be  easier  and  not  more 
difficult  to  secure  a  good  board. 

(22)  '-The  next  point  to  be  considered  is  the  length  of  service.  If  experi- 
ence has  any  value,  continued  service  is  most  profitable.  The  cry  for  rotation 
in  office  should  never  be  heard  in  its  application  to  school  authorities.  The  harm 
resulting  from  frequent  changes  will  be  widely  felt.  Incompetency  of  teachers 
often  escapes  the  attention  of  the  man  just  leaving  an  office,  and  fails  to  arrest 
the  attention  of  his  successor  until  too  late  for  his  action,  and  the  same  observa- 
tion will  apply  to  the  other  features  of  the  work."—/.  L.  Pickard,  in  Education, 
September,  1883. 

"The  term  for  which  members  should  be  appointed  should  be  a  long  one, 
say  five  years." — Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  102. 

(23)  "Such  a  conception  as  this  dignifies  the  idea  of  a  board  of  education. 
It  makes  them  a  body  of  men  and  women  who  must  post  themselves  in  regard 
to  the  tendencies  and  progress  of  school  work,  who  must  know  the  needs  of 
the  people  and  what  they  desire  from  the  schools,  and  who  also  know  in  what 
way  the  people  will  derive  most  from  the  schools."— Joseph  W.  Errant,  Member 
of  Chicago  School  Board,  1897. 


SECTION  4. THAT  THE  FUNCTION  OF  THE  BOARD  BE  CHIEFLY  LEGISLA- 
TIVE, THE  EXECUTIVE  WORK  BEING  DELEGATED  TO  THE  SUPERINTEND- 
ENT AND  THE  BUSINESS   MANAGER.  (24) 

The  history  of  the  board  in  Chicago  clearly  indicates  that  the  func- 
tions of  a  board  of  education  should  be  legislative  and  not  executive.  (25a) 

No  one  impediment  has  acted  more  strongly  against  the  securing  of  the 
very  best  men  for  the  board  than  the  general  recognition  that  membership 
implies  an  enormous  amount  of  detail  and  routine  work.     Such  labor 

(24)  "I  am  firmly  of  the  opinion  that  the  executive  and  administrative  officers 
of  the  board  should  be  vested  with  a  reasonable  discretion  in  the  performance 
of  their  duties,  and  should  be  held  strictly  responsible  for  the  manner  in  which 
such  duties  are  performed.  An  executive  officer  who  is  at  liberty  to  appeal  to 
a  committee  or  to  a  member  of  the  board  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  authority 
to  do  some  necessary  act  is  thereby  given  an  opportunity  of  shirking  all  responsi- 
bility and  is  prevented  from  displaying  any  of  those  qualities  which  an  executive 
officer  should  possess.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  to  intimate  that  executive  officers, 
holding  their  positions  by  appointment  of  the  board,  should  be  vested  with  a 
power  to  expend  public  money  without  authority,  or  to  perform  any  of  the 
functions  which  properly  belong  to  the  members  of  the  board.  My  idea  about 
the  matter  is  that  after  general  rules  have  been  framed  for  the  government 
of  executive  officers,  and  general  instructions  have  been  given  to  guide  them 
in  the  performance  of  their  duties,  there  should,  generally  speaking,  be  no  further 
need  of  appealing  to  committees  or  members  of  the  board  until  those  instructions 
have  been  fulfilled  and  the  executive  officer  is  ready  to  report  as  to  the  manner 
of  fulfillment. 

"I  am  firmly  of  the  opinion  that  all  executive  officers  and  employes  of  the 
board,  of  every  kind,  should  be  appointed  wholly  on  account  of  their  merit, 
and  should  hold  office  during  good  behavior,  substantially  in  accordance  with 
the  apparent  intention  of  the  legislature  in  framing  the  Teachers'  Pension  Act. 
If  for  good  legal  reasons  it  is  impossible  or  inadvisable  to  appoint  officers  from 
the  approved  lists  of  the  municipal  civil  service  commission,  then  a  similar  com- 
mission or  committee  should  control  the  appointments  to  service  under  the 
board  of  education,  thereby  relieving  members  of  the  board  from  the  importuni- 
ties of  those  desiring  appointments.  For  the  same  reason,  the  superintending 
force  of  the  educational  department  should,  generally  speaking,  recommend  the 
appointment  of  teachers  and  changes  in  text-books." — Donald  L.  Morrill. 

(25a)  "The  board  of  education  should  be  vested  only  with  legislative  functions, 
and  should  be  required  to  act  wholly  through  formal  and  recorded  resolutions. 
It  should  determine  and  direct  the  general  policy  of  the  school  system.  Within 
reasonable  limits  as  to  amount,  it  should  be  given  power  in  its  discretion,  to 
levy  whatever  money  may  be  needed  for  school  purposes." — Committee  of 
Fifteen,  p.  103. 

"I  suggest,  as  a  general  business  principle,  that  all  the  business  of  the  board 
should  rest  in  the  hands  of  responsible  school  officers — one  for  each  department, 
with  a  fair  subdivision  of  the  work,  separating,  perhaps,  the  department  of 
instruction,  that  of  buildings  and  repairs,  school-room  supplies  and  finances.     All 

13 


cannot  be  expected  from  the  kind  of  men  whose  appointment  is  demanded 
by  the  best  interests  of  the  schools.  The  duties  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion as  fixed  by  law  involve  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  a  public 
school  system.  This  implies  that  the  board,  acting  for  the  people,  shall 
prescribe  the  general  educational  policy  of  the  city,  determining  on  the 
one  hand  the  kind  and  the  number  of  buildings  to  be  erected  for  school 
purposes,  and  on  the  other  hand,  outlining  what  shall  be  taught  in  the 
schools,  and  spending  economically  and  fairly  the  school  funds  for  these 
purposes.  The  administration  in  detail  of  the  schools,  either  on  the  edu- 
cational or  on  the  business  side,  cannot  be  carried  on  by  the  board  acting 

the  business  of  the  board  should  be  transacted  through  these  officers,  and  the  com- 
mittees of  the  board  should  be  supervisory  but  not  executive." — F.  Louis  Soldan, 
Superintendent,  St.  Louis  Public  Schools. 

"In  what  you  propose  respecting  the  two  great  phases  of  school  management, 
that  pertaining  to  the  business  and  that  of  education,  you  have  not  only  taken 
high  ground  regarding  the  centralizing  of  authority  in  the  person  of  two  com- 
petent experts,  but  have  placed  around  these  executive  heads  such  safeguards 
as  will  prevent  possible  abuses  on  the  one  hand  and  unnecessary  interference 
on  the  other." — 5".  T.  Dutton,  Superintendent,  Brookline,  Mass. 

"The  administration  of  a  system  of  schools  involves  two  quite  distinct  func- 
tions— the  legislative  and  the  executive.  The  state  legislature  enacts  laws  for 
the  organization  and  general  management  of  schools,  and  the  board  of  education 
in  each  district  is  endowed  by  the  state  with  other  necessary  legislative  powers. 
This  legislative  action  is  the  chief  function  of  the  board  of  education  as  an 
organized  body.  All  experience  shows  that  a  body  cannot  wisely  attend  to  the 
details  of  organization." — E.  E.  White,  in  American  School  Board  Journal, 
February,  i8g8. 

"The  board  should  confine  itself  to  the  discussion  and  establishment  of  plans 
and  policies.  It  should  not  interfere  in  the  carrying  out  of  details.  These  should 
be  left  to  those  who  are  employed  in  the  various  departments,  because  of  their 
special  fitness."— Joseph  W.  Errant,  Member  of  Chicago  School  Board,  1897. 

"The  leading  principle  embodied  in  the  new  school  legislation  vests,  subject 
to  the  supervision  and  approval  of  the  board,  the  broadest  powers  in  the  hands 
of  the  executive  departments,  who  in  turn  are  to  be  held  to  the  strictest  responsi- 
bility for  their  management.  Thus  in  the  matter  of  the  selection  of  teachers, 
janitors  and  employes,  the  law  contemplates  that  the  members  of  the  board  are 
in  no  wise  to  interfere.  Such  selection  is  left  to  the  department  officers,  and 
the  board  is  given  final  supervisory  control  over  these  matters  by  the  power  of 
approval  or  disapproval.  This  general  policy  of  giving  an  officer  the  greatest 
latitude  in  the  selection  of  subordinates  and  in  their  government,  and  holding 
him  directly  responsible  for  satisfactory  results  in  his  department,  met  with  the 
fullest  approval  of  the  members  of  the  new  board,  hence,  their  aim,  in  the 
revision  of  the  rules,  was  to  extend  such  policy  to  every  branch  of  the  business 
of  the  schools  and  to  harmonize  all  by-laws  and  regulations  with  the  statute 
law  in  that  respect.  The  board  fully  realized  that,  under  the  new  plan,  the  selec- 
tion of  its  executive  officers  was  a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance.  To  this 
task  the  members  applied  themselves  at  once  with  a  single  purpose,  to-wit: 
the  selection  of  the  fittest  and  most  reliable  men."— Paul  F.  Coste,  Presidents 
Report,  St.  Louis  Board  of  Education,  1897. 


as  a  whole,  and  should  not  be  carried  on  by  a  system  of  committee  man- 
agement. Against  the  latter  plan  are  arrayed  many  arguments,  founded 
on  the  lack  of  competency  of  even  the  best  boards  as  far  as  the  educational 
work  is  concerned,  and  on  the  lack  of  time  as  far  as  the  details  are  involved. 

SECTION    5. THAT  ONLY  THREE  STANDING  COMMITTEES  BE  APPOINTED; 

VIZ.,  A  COMMITTEE  ON  EDUCATIONAL  AFFAIRS,  A  COMMITTEE  ON  BUSI- 
NESS AFFAIRS,  AND  A  COMMITTEE  ON   FINANCIAL  AFFAIRS. 

The  work  of  the  board  of  education,  when  the  details  of  management 
are  referred,  as  here  implied,  to  the  proper  executive  officers,  can  be  ac- 
complished easily  and  satisfactorily  with  three  committees,  at  the  most, 
fulfilling,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  board,  the  three  functions  of  secur- 
ing and  maintaining  school  accommodations,  of  providing  the  necessary 
instruction,  and  of  equitably  dividing  and  spending  school  funds  for  these 
purposes.  (25b) 

SECTION    6. THAT  THE  BOARD  BE  GIVEN  POWER  TO  CONDEMN   SITES  FOR 

SCHOOL  PURPOSES. 

A  board  thus  constituted,  may  properly  be  given  the  power  to  condemn 
sites  for  school  purposes,  a  power  which  in  other  large  cities,  where  sim- 
ilar conditions  prevail,  has  been  found  necessary  for  securing,  in  the  short- 
est time  and  to  the  best  advantage,  the  additional  property  required  by 
the  growth  of  the  school  system.  This  power,  which  can  be  justly  claimed 
by  the  board  of  education  on  the  general  ground  of  public  interest,  need  not, 
with  proper  restrictions,  be  susceptible  of  abuse,  and  considering  the  admit- 
ted necessity  of  increased  accommodations,  will  be  of  immediate  and  great 
practical  assistance  to  the  Chicago  board.  It  will  give  the  school  system  of 
the  city  the  sites  needed,  where  they  are  needed,  and  at  a  price  more  approxi- 
mate to  real  values  than  has  frequently  been  the  case,  and  will  do  away  with 
much  danger  and  difficulty  in  connection  with  defective  titles.  The  process 
of  condemnation  might  cause  some  delay,  but  this  has  been  avoided  in 
New  York  by  the  limitation  of  the  length  of  such  a  suit.  Recourse  to 
condemnation  may  be  had,  if  it  seems  desirable,  only  in  cases  where  par- 
ticular sites  are  needed  imperatively  for  school  purposes.  (26) 

(25b)   The  proper  number  of  committees  is  discussed  further  in  Article  II. 

(26)  "The  proceedings  of  the  board  of  education  with  reference  to  the  pur- 
chase of  real  estate  for  school  purposes  during  the  past  ten  years,  will  show 
numerous  occasions  when  a  considerable  expenditure  of  public  money  would  have 
been  avoided  if  the  right  to  condemn  property  for  school  purposes  existed  in  this 
city.     The  right  of  eminent  domain  has  been  given  by  statute  to  nearly  every 

15 


SECTION   7. THAT  THE  BOARD  BE  GIVEN    POWER,   INDEPENDENT  OF   THE 

CITY   COUNCIL,   TO   PURCHASE   SITES   AND   CONSTRUCT  BUILDINGS. 

In  accordance  with  the  general  principle  of  concentration  of  authority 
and  responsibility  already  mentioned,  your  commission  would  recommend 
that  to  the  board  of  education  be  given  the  power,  independent  of  the  city 
council,  of  purchasing  sites  and  erecting  buildings.  (27) 

form  of  a  public  corporation  which  exists  in  this  state,  including  the  boards  of 
directors  in  rural  school  districts,  where  it  is  not  needed,  but  for  some  reason 
has  never  been  given  to  the  school  authorities  in  large  cities. 

"The  necessity  of  using  this  power  in  the  city  of  Chicago  arises  from  the 
fact  that  in  the  purchase  of  a  school  site  it  is  necessary  to  acquire  title  to  several 
parcels  of  real  estate,  sometimes  rendering  it  unavoidable  to  make  purchases 
from  eight  or  ten  different  owners,  and  in  many  cases  the  purchase  is  further 
complicated  by  the  improvements  located  upon  the  real  estate.  Under  this  state 
of  affairs,  it  is  possible  for  a  designing  person  to  demand  an  exorbitant  price  for 
his  particular  holding,  and  the  city  is  obliged  to  pay  the  same  or  to  abandon 
the  purchase  of  the  entire  site.  As  a  consequence,  it  has  frequently  happened  that 
the  city  of  Chicago  has  paid  outside  prices  for  its  real  estate  for  this  purpose 
rather  than  the  fair  market  value,  and  in  cases  where  the  land  has  been  improved, 
the  amount  of  money  expended  for  the  purchase  of  the  improvements  has  fre- 
quently been  of  little  benefit  to  the  board  of  education.  I  do  not  consider  that 
it  would  be  necessary  to  resort  to  condemnation  proceedings  except  in  rare 
cases,  but  if  the  right  to  condemn  exists,  owners  of  real  estate  desired  for  school 
purposes  will  be  more  likely  to  accept  a  reasonable  value  for  their  land,  and 
it  will  be  impossible  for  an  owner  of  a  single  lot,  located,  possibly,  in  the 
center  of  a  proposed  school  site,  to  resort  to  extortionate  prices. 

"The  right  of  eminent  domain  would  also  be  of  great  value  in  acquiring  title 
in  certain  cases  where  technical  defects  exist  in  the  title  to  the  real  estate  pro- 
posed to  be  purchased." — Donald  L.  Morrill. 

(27)  "With  the  responsibility  for  city  schools  divided  between  the  city  council 
and  the  board  of  education,  we  have  seen  during  the  last  two  years  that  the 
object  of  the  law  and  the  intentions  of  our  law-makers  have  been  frustrated 
and  seriously  impaired.  The  lamentable  fact  that  over  thirty-eight  thousand 
children  are  without  any  school  facilities,  is  too  serious  not  to  attract  and  demand 
immediate  attention.  This  number  will  be  largely  increased  before  the  neces- 
sary school  buildings  can  be  erected,  even  if  ordered  now,  and  there  is  the  greatest 
danger  that  the  question  of  locating  schools  will  degenerate  into  a  mere  political 
contest.  The  members  of  the  board  have  heretofore  studiously  avoided  any- 
thing that  might  give  a  political  bias  or  character  to  their  actions ;  but  it  will 
be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  continue  this,  if  the  present  deadlock  on  the 
subject  of  new  schools  is  continued." — Allan  C.  Story,  President's  Report,  Chi- 
cago Board  of  Education,  1889. 

"In  the  matter  of  concurrence  by  the  city  council  in  action  by  the  board  for 
which  such  concurrence  is  required,  the  inconsistency  heretofore  prevailing  has 
been  allowed  to  continue.  It  has  been  curiously  assumed  that  the  'appropriation' 
by  the  city  council  each  year  of  an  aggregate  sum,  specifically  'for  the  purpose 
of  grounds,  furniture,  erection  of  new  buildings,  repairs  and  renting  of  buildings 
and  support  of  schools,'  constitutes  an  advanced  concurrence  in  the  expenditures 
deemed  necessary  by  the  board  for  repairs,  and  yet  does  not  constitute  a  sufficient 

16 


The  suggestion  has  been  made  further,  that  the  board  of  education  be 
allowed  to  determine,  within  the  limits  of  the  law,  the  amount  of  money  • 
to  be  appropriated  for  school  purposes. (2S)        This   is  a  power  widely 
granted  to  similar  bodies.     Experience  so  far  has  not  shown  that  this 
power  is  liable  to  abuse.   The  levying  of  taxes  for  school  purposes  is  in  the 

concurrence  in  expenditures  for  the  purchase  of  school  sites  and  the  erection 
of  new  buildings,  so  that  it  has  been  customary  to  proceed  in  reference  to  the 
council  in  the  making  of  repairs,  and  to  apply  for  concurrence  to  the  council  every 
time  it  was  desired  to  purchase  a  school  site  or  erect  a  school  building.  The 
bare  statement  of  such  a  condition  of  things  is  enough  to  show  its  unreasonable- 
ness. If  the  'appropriation'  is  a  sufficient  concurrence  for  repairs,  it  is  likewise 
a  sufficient  concurrence  for  the  purchase  of  school  sites  and  the  erection  of  new 
buildings;  and  if  it  is  not  a  sufficient  concurrence  for  the  latter  it  is  not  for  the 
former.  There  can  be  no  middle  ground.  I  do  not  understand  that  anybody 
dissents  from  this  proposition,  nor  do  I  know  that  any  of  'the  municipal  officers 
have  any  special  interest  in  the  matter.  They  are  all  satisfied  with  the  existing 
order  of  things,  which  is  always  easier  to  continue  than  to  change.  But  the 
board  of  education  should  feel  an  interest  in  doing  its  business  correctly  and 
as  required  by  law.  There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  embarrassing  delay  in  the 
council  at  various  times  in  acting  in  one  way  or  the  other  upon  communications 
from  the  board  respecting  the  purchase  of  school  sites  and  the  erection  of  new 
buildings,  and  I  believe  it  would  be  well  for  the  board  hereafter  to  carry  out  the 
above  mentioned  assumption  to  its  logical  conclusion,  and  to  proceed  under  the 
present  appropriation  in  the  purchase  of  school  sites  and  the  erection  of  school 
buildings  without  applying  to  the  city  council  for  any  specific  concurrence  at  all." 
—William  G.  Beale,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1890. 

The  embarrassment  and  delay  which  has  been  the  rule  under  the  present  plan 
of  requiring  the  concurrence  of  the  council  in  respect  to  sites  and  buildings,  is 
somewhat  forcibly  indicated  in  the  following  extract  from  President  Halle's 
report  for  1898 : 

"Motley  School  (adjoining  lots)— Recommended  Nov.  18,  1896,  and  author- 
ized by  Council  Dec.  13,  1897;  North  Oakley  Avenue,  near  Potomac  Avenue- 
Recommended  Feb.  24,  1897,  and  authorized  by  Council  Dec.  13,  1897;  Froebel 
School  (adjoining  lots.) — Recommended  March  24,  1897,  and  placed  on  file  by 
Council  May  16,  1898;  Southeast  corner  Avenue  N  and  110th  Street— Recom- 
mended Oct.  6,  1897,  and  authorized  May  23,  1898;  West  17th  Street,  near  Loomis 
Street— Recommended  by  Board  Oct.  20,  1897,  and  authorized  March  23,  T898: 
Prairie  and  Forest  Avenues — Recommended  Nov.  3,  1897,  not  authorized  to  date." 

(28)  "The  work  of  such  a  board  will  be  best  subserved  by  giving  them  virtual 
control  of  the  finances,  even  to  the  point  of  levying  school  taxes.  A  maximum 
limit  may  be  fixed  by  the  legislative  authority,  but  there  should  be  perfect  free- 
dom as  to  the  amount  to  be  collected  within  that  limit.  The  best  laborer  must 
be  sure  of  his  tools.  Money  is  the  most  efficient  tool  in  the  hands  of  a  most 
conscientious  school  board  of  education,  and  they  must  be  sure  of  its  con- 
stant readiness  for  service." — /.  L.  Pickard,  in  Education,  September,  1883. 

"To  require  a  board  thus  constituted  to  be  a  suppliant  to  the  average  city 
council,  for  the  necessary  appropj  nations  to  carry  on  the  school,  is  a  grievous 
wrong.  You  can  rest  assured  that  if  for  any  reason  the  revenues  of  the  city  are 
curtailed  and  some  department  must  suffer,  it  will  be  as  a  rule  the  school,  as 
the  ward  statesmen  of  the  council  must  keep  their  fences  in  repair  in  their  own 
little  kingdoms.  I  would  have  the  school  boards  make  the  tax  levy  for  carrying 
on  the  schools,  and  certify  the  same  to  the  taxing  authorities  for  collection  and 
return  direct  to  the  boards,  as  the  boards  are  unquestionably  the  better  judges 
as  to  the  requirements  of  the  schools  than  the  city  government,  whose  members 

17 


hands  of  the  board  of  education  in  St.Louis,  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  Cleve- 
land, Milwaukee,  Minneapolis,  Denver,  and  Indianapolis,  and  it  is  pro- 
posed by  the  new  law  in  Massachusetts  to  give  similar  power  to  the  school 
committee  of  Boston.  In  such  cases,  however,  the  school  authorities  have 
been  directly  elected  by  the  people,  and  so  are  directly  responsible  to  them ; 
with  a  board  of  education  appointed  as  here  suggested,  difficulties  might 
arise  from  too  lavish  expenditure.  The  principle,  it  must  be  granted 
also,  is  opposed  to  municipal  experience,  which  has  in  general  necessi- 
tated placing  all  such  questions,  so  far  as  the  city  is  concerned,  in  the 
hands  of  one  body.(29)  On  the  other  hand,  as  the  present  condition  of 
school  affairs  in  Chicago  shows  undue  retrenchment  in  the  matter  of  school 

are  in  no  sense  familiar  with  the  work.  I  would  place  the  entire  responsibility 
on  the  board,  knowing  full  well  that  if  the  schools  are  not  conducted  upon  an 
economical  basis,  the  people,  the  source  of  all  power,  will  dismiss  them  as 
unfaithful  stewards,  and  select  others  more  worthy." — R.  L.  Yeager,  President 
Kansas  City  School  Board,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1896,  p.  974. 

"Even  the  determination  of  the  sum  to  be  levied  for  school  purposes  should 
not  be  left  to  the  common  council,  which  by  legislation  and  by  usage  has  come 
to  represent  and  has  become  representative  of  interests  not  in  harmony  or 
sympathy  with  school  administration.  If  there  is  a  finance  board  or  tax  com- 
mission which  receives  estimates  from  all  sources  and  finally  determines  the 
amount  to  be  levied,  it  is  not  so  objectionable  that  the  school  estimates  should 
go  with  others  to  this  board,  for  such  a  board  may  be  assumed  to  be  independent 
of  all  special  intersts  and  representative  of  the  best  sentiment  of  the  whole 
city.  But  the  only  sound  rule  is  that  school  administration  shall  be  entirely 
independent  of  municipal  business.  The  two  do  not  rest  upon  the  same  founda- 
tion. The  power  which  manages  each  proceeds  from  entirely  different  sources, 
and  the  object  and  purpose  of  each  have  nothing  in  common." — Andrew  S. 
Draper,  in  Educational  Review,  1893. 

"To  allow  the  board  of  education  to  levy  its  own  taxes,  while  withholding 
the  same  right  from  the  sewer  commissioner,  police,  fire  and  park  boards,  is 
to  assume  that  the  school  men  are  superior  beings  to  their  official  brethren,  and 
deserve  special  consideration.  This  would  not  be  admitted.  The  way  that 
this  whole  question  is  often  avoided  is  to  take  the  schools  entirely  out  of 
municipal  control.  The  charters  of  some  of  the  big  cities  do  not  mention  schools 
at  all,  or  only  briefly  and  incidentally,  while  the  school  boards  are  specially 
chartered  with  full  powers  of  taxation.  The  powers  of  the  western  boards 
with  respect  to  finances  are  usually  much  greater  than  those  in  the  east.  St. 
Louis,  Denver  and  Minneapolis  are  types  of  cities  where  school  boards  enjoy 
the  right  to  levy  whatever  tax  they  require  without  submitting  their  estimates 
to  anybody." — James  C.  Boykin,  in  Educational  Review,  March.  1897. 

(29)  "The  theory  that  there  should  be  a  balance  wheel  somewhere  in  the 
city  government,  to  keep  all  its  parts  running  smoothly  and  uniformly,  is  a  sound 
one.  The  experience  of  allowing  each  municipal  board  to  levy  taxes  for  every 
purpose  its  members  think  necessary  has  always  resulted  disastrously,  for  the 
aggregate  is  sure  to  be  excessive.  The  common  council  is  logically  the  body 
which  should  act  as  the  balance  wheel  in  so  adjusting  the  expenditures  of  the 
several  branches  of  the  city  government  as  to  bring  them  all  within  reasonable 
bounds ;  and  from  the  standpoint  of  the  student  of  city  government  in  general, 
where  the  schools  are  distinctly  municipal  affairs,  no  valid  objection  can  be 
urged  to  lodging  the  power  of  appropriation  of  funds  in  the  council." — James 
C.  Boykin,  in  Educational  Review,  March,  1897. 


accommodations — a  point  to  be  discussed  later — your  commission  thinks 
that  the  question  of  giving-  such  power  to  the  board  of  education  is  worthy 
of  serious  consideration^30) 

SECTION  8. THAT  PROVISION   BE  MADE  IN  THE  LAW   FOR  THE  REMOVAL 

OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  BOARD,  BUT  ONLY  FOR  CAUSE  AND  UPON   WRITTEN 
CHARGES. 

The  necessity  of  removing  members  of  a  board  has  not  often  arisen., 
but  a  number  of  cities  have  seen  proper  to  provide  for  such  a  con- 
tingency^31)    As  the  appointment  .of  members  is  put  in  the  hands  of  the 

(30)  "The  control  of  school  finances  by  the  city  council  is  a  very  great  evil. 
Common  councils  of  American  cities  are  almost  invariably  composed  of  inferior 
men,  with  a  large  number,  if  not  a  majority,  of  corrupt  men.  I  never  yet 
knew  what  might  be  called  a  good  common  council  in  any  city.  They  are  always 
political  bodies  with  that  intensity  of  political  partisanship  which  belongs  to 
the  ward  politician,  and  everything  within  their  grasp  is  used  for  partisan 
advantage.  To  make  it  direct,  in  this  city  it  is  practically  necessary  to  have 
the  school  board  and  the  common  council  of  the  same  political  complexion  in 
order  to  secure  adequate  appropriations  ;  otherwise  the  party  appropriating  funds 
might  be  contributing  to  the  glory  and  success  of  the  party  controlling  the 
schools.  It  makes  no  difference  which  party  is  in  power.  Nothing  is  of  less 
interest  to  the  average  common  council  than  education,  and  nothing  makes  so 
convenient  a  political  tool.  If  economy  must  be  practiced,  the  schools  are  the 
first  to  suffer.  If  money  is  to  be  spent,  it  must  be  so  spent  that  it  shall  redound  to 
the  advantage  of  the  party  in  power.  The  common  council  should  have  abso- 
lutely no  rights  or  powers  regarding  the  administration  of  schools  or  the  appro- 
priation of  funds.  It  is  better  to  allow  the  school  board,  within  the  statutory 
limits,  to  determine  the  amount  of  funds  to  be  expended." — A  City  Superin- 
tendent. 

"The  powers  relating  to  the  management  of  city  schools  are  often  vested 
in  boards,  the  members  of  which  are  appointed  by  the  mayor  and  confirmed  by 
the  city  council  or  aldermen.  In  such  cases  the  school  board  is  dependent 
upon  the  legislative  branch  of  the  municipal  government  for  appropriations 
from  the  treasury  to  pay  the  salaries  of  teachers  and  officers  and  to  meet 
the  current  expenses  of  the  schools.  New  buildings  and  building  sites  are  in 
that  case  usually  provided  by  the  city  government  directly,  but  in  some  cases 
by  the  school  board.  The  city  council  is  more  interested  in  municipal  improve- 
ments and  in  questions  of  semi-political  or  partisan  nature  than  in  the  schools, 
and  is  apt  to  stint  the  supply  of  the  school  fund  at  unseasonable  times." — 
William  T.  Harris,  Superintendent's  Report,  St.  Louis  Board  of  Education,  1879. 

(31)  "Any  member  of  the  board  of  education  of  a  borough  school  board,  or 
any  inspector  of  common  schools  in  the  city  of  New  York,  may  be  removed 
by  the  mayor  of  said  city  upon  proof  either  of  official  misconduct  in  office  or 
negligence  of  official  duties,  or  of  conduct  in  any  manner  connected  with  his 
official  duties,  or  otherwise,  which  tends  to  discredit  his  office  or  the  member  or 
inspector,  but  before  such  removal  of  said  member  or  inspector,  he  shall  receive 
due  and  timely  notice  in  writing  of  the  charges  and  a  copy  thereof,  and  shall 

19 


mayor,  it  seems  well  to  give  him  the  power  of  removal,  if  necessity  should 
arise ;  only,  however,  after  a  due  trial  and  a  formal  statement  of  the  rea- 
sons for  such  action. 

SECTION  9. THAT  A  FORMAL  TITLE  BE  GIVEN    MEMBERS  OK  THE  BOARD, 

AND  THAT  THE  EXACT  TIME  AND  THE  CONDITIONS  OF  THEIR  APPOINT- 
MENT BE   CLEARLY   INDICATED  IN   THE   SCHOOL   LAW. 

The  school  law  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  in  the  article  specifically  apply- 
ing to  Chicago,  lacks  clearness  in  regard  to  the  time  of  appointment,  the 
duration  of  the  term,  and  the  title  of  members  of  the  board  of  education, 
in  any  future  legislation  bearing  upon  the  city  system,  attention  might 
well  be  given  to  these  points. 

be  entitled  to  a  hearing  on  like  notice  before  the  mayor,  and  to  the  assistance  of 
counsel  on  said  hearing." — Removals  by  Mayor  for  Neglect  or  Misconduct,  after 
Hearing.— Section  1,087,  Charter  of  the  City  of  New  York. 


3T1k  Justness  jttanagf- 

nwnt  of  tijc  13oaro  of 

?£  curat  ton 


ARTICLE   II 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends,  in  regard  to  the  business 
management  of  the  Board  of  Education : 

SECTION    I. THAT    A    BUSINESS    MANAGER    BE    APPOINTED   AT   A    YEARLY 

SALARY  NOT  TO  EXCEED  $10,000,  UNDER  A  CONTRACT  FOR  A  TERM  OF 
SIX  YEARS;  PROVIDED,  THAT  HE  MAY  BE  REMOVED  ONLY  FOR  CAUSE 
UPON  WRITTEN  CHARGES,  BY  A  VOTE  OF  NOT  LESS  THAN  TWO-THIRDS 
OF  THE  ENTIRE  BOARD; 

SECTION   2. THAT   HE   SHALL   NOMINATE   AND,   SUBJECT   TO   THE   PRIOR 

APPROVAL  OF  THE  BOARD,  APPOINT  THE  ARCHITECT  OR  ARCHITECTS  OF 
SCHOOL  BUILDINGS,  AND  ADVERTISE  AND  AWARD  THE  CONTRACTS  FOR 
THE  CONSTRUCTION  AND  REPAIR  OF  SUCH  BUILDINGS  EITHER  WHOLLY 
OR  IN  PART,  AND  FOR  THE  PURCHASE  OF  ALL  SUPPLIES  REQUIRED  FOR 
THE  BOARD  AND  SCHOOLS,  OR  OFFICERS  AND  EMPLOYES  OF  THE  BOARD; 
PROVIDED,  THAT  HE  MAY,  WITHOUT  SUCH  PRIOR  APPROVAL,  EXPEND 
FOR  REPAIRS  AND  SUPPLIES  A  SUM  NOT  TO  EXCEED  $200  IN  EACH  CASE  ; 

SECTION    3. THAT  HE  SHALL  EXERCISE  A  CAREFUL  OVERSIGHT  OVER  THE 

CONSTRUCTION  OF  ALL  SCHOOL  BUILDINGS,  AND  OVER  ALL  REPAIRS  ON 
SUCH  BUILDINGS  J 

SECTION    4. THAT  HE  SHALL  HAVE  THE  APPOINTMENT,  DIRECTION  AND 

DISCHARGE,  UNDER  CIVIL  SERVICE  RULES,  AND  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH 
A  SCHEDULE  OF  SALARIES  ESTABLISHED  BY  THE  BOARD,  OF  THE  JANI- 
TORS, ENGINEERS  AND  OTHER  PERSONS  WHOM  HE  SHALL  REQUIRE  TO 
ASSIST  HIM  IN  THE  BUSINESS  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  BOARD  ;  PROVIDED,  THAT 
ALL  SUCH  APPOINTMENTS,  PROMOTIONS  AND  DISMISSALS  SHALL  BE 
REPORTED  TO  THE  BOARD  AT  ITS  NEXT  REGULAR  MEETING,  AND  SHALL 
STAND  AS  FINAL  UNLESS  DISAPPROVED  BY  A  MAJORITY  VOTE  OF  ALL 
THE  MEMBERS  THEREOF,  NOT  LATER  THAN  THE  SECOND  MEETING  AFTER 
THE  REPORT  IS  MADE  THERETO; 

SECTION    5. THAT   HE   SHALL  PERFORM   ALL  OTHER   EXECUTIVE   DUTIES 

RELATING  TO  THE  BUSINESS  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  BOARD,  BUT  NOT  SUBJECT 
TO  ITS  PRIOR  APPROVAL,  AND  REPORT    SUCH     ACTS,   TOGETHER   WITH   A 

21 


STATEMENT  OF  ALL  EXPENDITURES  FOR  REPAIRS  AND  SUPPLIES,  NOT 
EXCEEDING  THE  SUM  OF  $200  IN  EACH  CASE,  AT  THE  NEXT  REGULAR 
MEETING  OF  THE  BOARD  J  SAID  ACTS  AND  EXPENDITURES  TO  STAND  AS 
FINAL  UNLESS  DISAPPROVED  BY  A  MAJORITY  VOTE  OF  ALL  THE  MEM- 
BERS THEREOF,  NOT  LATER  THAN  THE  SECOND  MEETING  AFTER  SUCH 
REPORT  IS  MADE  THERETO  J 

SECTION  6. THAT  HE  SHALL   HAVE  THE   CHARGE  AND  CUSTODY  OF  THE 

SECURITIES  OF  THE  BOARD  AND  UNDER  CLOSE  DIRECTION,  ACT  AS  ITS 
FINANCIAL  AGENT  J 

SECTION    7. THAT,  BEFORE  ENTERING  UPON  HIS  DUTIES,  HE  SHALL  GIVE 

A  BOND  OF  NOT  LESS  THAN  $150,000,  RUNNING  TO  AND  APPROVED  BY 
THE  BOARD,  AND  CONDITIONED  UPON  THE  FAITHFUL  PERFORMANCE  OF 
THE  DUTIES  OF  HIS  OFFICE. 


The  administration  of  a  school  system  in  a  small  community  is  not  a 
matter  of  great  difficulty.  The  interest  of  the  public  in  this  important 
question,  the  comparative  ease  with  which  the  people  can  discuss  and 
determine  measures  relating  to  the  schools,  their  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  men  proposed  to  represent  them  in  the  management  of  school  af- 
fairs, and  the  facility  with  which  any  citizen  may  inform  himself  in  regard 
even  to  the  details  of  the  work,  all  lead  to  a  ready  solution  of  this  problem. 
With  the  growth  of  a  city    (1),  however,  the  conditions  become  much  more 

(!)  "As  cities  increase  in  population,  and  even  out  of  proportion  to  the  ad- 
vance in  population,  the  volume  of  municipal  business  enlarges,  the  magnitude 
of  the  transactions  becomes  more  and  more  appalling,  the  subjects  presented 
more  and  more  involved,  the  temptations  become  greater  and  dishonesty  more 
and  more  difficult  of  detection.  As  it  becomes  more  and  more  imperative  to 
have  strong  men  and  honest  men  to  manage  the  business  of  large  cities,  it  also 
becomes,  for  obvious  reasons,  more  and  more  difficult  to  secure  them  upon 
the  basis  of  an  unrestricted  suffrage.  It  is  therefore  meet  that  the  best  thought 
of  the  country  should  be  turned,  as  it  is  turned,  to  plans  for  the  government 
of  cities. 

"And  what  is  true  of  municipal  business  in  great  and  growing  cities  is  true 
in  still  larger  degree  of  their  school  business.  The  proper  education  of  the 
children  is  infinitely  more  important  than  even  the  management  of  the  street, 
fire  and  police  departments  of  such  cities.  And  in  view  of  the  marked  extent 
to  which  our  people  are  congregating  in  cities,  it  is  well  for  us  to  remember  that 
if  the  public  school  system  is  to  hold  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  country,  it 
must  hold  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  cities,  and  to  do  that  it  must  bear 
fruits  worthy  of  confidence  and  esteem." — Andrew  S.  Draper,  in  Educational 
Review,  June,  1883. 

"In  our  great  city  school  systems  there  is  little  distinction  between 
legislative  and  executive  functions,  no  centralization  of  responsibility 
and  acountability.  Novices  are  toying  with  high  powers  of  govern- 
ment and  managing  vast    properties,   before  which   the   most  experienced   and 


complicated  and  since  a  very  large  percentage  of  the  population  of  the 
country  is  now  massed  in  cities  of  considerable  size  (2),  the  securing  of 
a  good  school  system  is  a  difficult  problem. (3)  The  evolution  of  school 
systems  in  large  cities,  has  led,  as  your  commission  has  already  indicated, 
to  a  marked  change  in  the  methods  of  selecting  boards  of  education. (4) 
This  change  in  the  constitution  of  the  board  involves  also  a  different  plan 
of  organization  and  administration.  The  large  membership  of  the  board 
which  has  hitherto  been  common  in  cities,  led  inevitably  to  a  system  of 
committee  management   (5),  the  evils  of  which  have  already  been  sug- 

conservative  stand  in  awe.  There  is  but  little  appreciation  of  the  difficulties 
of  developing  a  competent,  right-spirited,  self-respecting  force,  and  the  temple 
is  being  profaned  by  money  changers.  The  organization  is  so  constituted  that 
it  resists  the  contributing  citizen  looking  for  live  teaching  for  his  children, 
more  than  the  poor  unfortunate  who  is  in  quest  of  a  place,  or  the  pillager  who 
is  looking  for  plunder." — "The  Crucial  Test,"  by  Andrew  S.  Draper. 

(2)  In  1840,  8.5  per  cent  of  the  total  population  of  the  United  States  lived  in 
cities  of  more  than  8,000.  In  1890  there  was  in  cities  of  this  size  not  less  than 
29.4  per  cent  of  the  population. 

(3)  "Now  I  must  exploit  these  troubles  in  the  two  most  important  directions 
before  discussing  the  remedies.  Your  city  is  spending  millions  of  dollars  each 
year  upon  the  schools.  The  wise  and  safe  expenditure  of  this  money  so  that 
it  shall  secure  the  ends  which  the  people  who  give  it  have  the  right  to  demand 
places  a  tremendous  responsibility  somewhere.  The  business  operations  inci- 
dent thereto  are  involved  and  innumerable.  Integrity,  experience,  expertness 
and  alertness  are  all  imperative,  or  the  money  is  filched  and  the  ends  for  which 
it  was  raised  are  defeated.  The  city  owns  millions  upon  millions  of  real  estate 
devoted  to  school  purposes.  It  is  putting  in  millions  more  each  year.  Some 
of  us  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  care  for  a  small  interest  in  real  estate,  where 
our  own  self-interest  is  sufficient  to  make  us  attend  to  it.  How  infinitely  more 
involved  is  the  problem  of  maintaining  in  good  physical  and  healthful  con- 
dition hundreds  of  buildings  subject  to  the  hard  usage  which  falls  upon  school 
houses.  Then  there  is  the  matter  of  selecting  new  sites  and  erecting  new  build- 
ings. The  first  calls  for  ripe  judgment  as  to  the  probable  directions  of  the 
city's  growth  ;  the  last  calls  for  all  the  good  qualities  in  the  heavens  above 
as  well  as  upon  the  earth  beneath  to  prevent  fraud  and  to  secure  to  the  people 
what  belongs  to  them.  The  whole  business  is  encompassed  by  self-seekers. 
You  might  as  well  turn  the  banks  of  the  city  over  to  the  ward  primaries  and 
expect  to  keep  them  out  of  the  hands  of  receivers,  or  let  political  committees 
name  the  directors  of  the  railroads  and  expect  trains  to  run  on  time  and  dividends 
to  be  paid  on  quarter  days,  as  to  put  all  this  vast  business  of  the  schools  into 
inexperienced  hands,  chosen  in  a  similar  way,  and  expect  it  to  be  conservatively 
managed." — "The  Crucial  Test,"  by  Andrew  S.  Draper. 

(4)  See  Article  I  ,  Section  1. 

(5)  "It  abolishes  the  vicious  trustee  or  sub-committee  government.  That 
Brooklyn  is  permitted  to  retain  it  in  a  modified  form  is  a  loss  to  Brooklyn,  but 
it  will  furnish  a  gigantic  object  lesson  which  cannot  fail  to  be  of  great  value. 
That  there  are  wise,  and  good,  and  helpful  boards  of  trustees  and  local  com- 
mittees is  a  truism.  That  the  system  itself  is  an  incubus  to  the  schools  is 
evident  to  any  candid  observer." — "Education  in  the  Greater  New  York,"  by 
Frank  A.  Fitzpatrick,  in  Educational  Review,  May,  1S97. 


23 


jested. (6)  Just  as  the  membership  of  many  boards (7)  increased  to  an 
absurd  degree,  so  the  number  of  committees  appointed  to  manage  their 
affairs  has  been  in  many  instances  extremely  large.'  The  numerous  com- 
mittees have  led  to  a  very  cumbersome  and  unwieldy  system  of  adminis- 
tration^8) The  arguments  against  a  large  board  of  education  are  even 
more  valid  against  the  number  of  committees,  which  naturally  results  from 
it.  Your  commission  has  no  hesitation  in  recommending  a  small 
membership  of  the  board  and  in  stating  its  belief  that  three  committees  can 
perform  more  satisfactorily  than  at  present  the  duties  now  devolving  on 
not  less  than  twenty-four.  A  committee  on  educational  affairs,  a  com- 
mittee on  business  affairs,  and  a  committee  on  financial  affairs  can,  we 
believe,  easily  assume  all  the  work  which  cannot  be  immediately  settled  by 
the  board  as  a  whole  (9),  and  which  may  well  be  assigned  to  the  immediate 
consideration  of  committees.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  no  one  of  these 
committees,  including  at  most  four  or  five  members,  can  acquaint  itself 
with  all  the  details  of  school  administration  which  are  included  in  the  gen- 

(6)   See  Article  I,  Section  4. 

(?)  "The  present  laws  that  relate  to  the  school  committee  of  Boston  con- 
tain nothing  especially  remarkable,  but  their  history  is  full  of  things  which  it 
would  be  well  to  avoid.  The  primary  schools  were  managed  prior  to  1855  by 
a  committee  which  had  grown  from  thirty-six  to  one  hundred  and  ninety. 
They  filled  their  own  vacancies  and  were  generally  a  law  unto  themselves. 
At  the  same  time  there  was  a  general  school  committee  of  twenty-four  members, 
two  elected  by  the  people  of  each  of  the  twelve  wards,  and  when  the  primary 
school  committee  was  abolished  the  general  committee  was  increased  to  seventy- 
two,  or  six  members  for  each  ward. 

"With  the  annexation  of  more  territory  to  the  city  the  school  committee 
grew  to  one  hundred  and  sixteen  members.  It  was  so  unwieldy  as  to  interfere 
with  the  proper  prosecution  of  business,  and  in  1895  the  number  was  cut  down 
to  twenty-four,  elected  from  the  city  at  large.  They  had  formerly  no  authority 
to  determine  the  location  or  character  of  the  school  houses,  that  power  being 
exercised  by  the  city  council  until  1875.  Then  the  school  committee  was  given 
a  voice  in  the  matter,  but  the  division  of  authority  was  equally  unsatisfactory 
in  practice,  but  in  1889  the  entire  control  of  the  erection  of  buildings  was  turned 
over  to  the  school  committee,  though  the  money  might  fairly  be  appropriated  by 
the  council." — Report  of  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  1896. 

(8)  "At  one  time,  in  Cincinnati,  the  management  of  the  school  system  was 
shared  by  seventy-four  committees.  This  number  was  formerly  surpassed  in 
Chicago,  when  the  list  of  committees  included  not  less  than  seventy-nine." — "City 
School  Systems,"  by  John  D.  Philbrick. 

(9)  '•*  *  *  The  board  should  transact  all  its  business,  as  far  as  possible, 
as  a  board.  It  is  all  right  to  appoint  your  committees,  but,  as  far  as  practicable, 
I  would  have  the  entire  board  as  a  committee  in  all  important  matters.  It  has 
been  my  observation  that  most  all  the  disturbance  and  mischief  that  boards  have 
to  meet  comes  through  committee  work.  This  is  the  open  door  through  which 
walks  the  criticisms  and  insinuations  and  intimations  that  some  baneful  influence 
has  been  invoked.  Is  it  not  wisdom,  to  say  nothing  of  policy,  to  avoid  all 
possible  criticism?" — R.  L.  Y eager,  President,  Board  of  Education,  Kansas  City, 
N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1896,  p.  977. 

24 


eral  scope  of  its  work.  Even  in  a  small  community,  where,  if  ever,  the  con- 
ditions admit  of  such  committee  administration,  it  has  seemed  best  in  many 
instances  to  make  the  superintendent  of  the  school  system  the  executive 
officer  in  full  charge  of  both  educational  and  business  functions  and  to  in- 
trust to  him  the  working  out  of  a  policy,  outlined  only  in  general,  by  the 
school  authorities. (10)  This  separation  of  legislative  duties,  preferable  in 
a  small  town,  becomes  imperative  in  our  large  cities.  (u)  Here  the  board 
of  education  must  differentiate  (12)  its  functions  and,  to  fulfill  its  duties 
adequately,  must  give  over  the  executive  work  to  competent  and  trusted 
officers. C13)     Therefore  we  recommend: 

(10)  One  city  of  considerable  size  (Decatur,  111.)  has  been  referred  to  in 
discussions  of  this  question,  in  which,  for  twenty-five  years,  no  building  has 
been  erected,  and  no  teacher  appointed,  except  on  the  direct  recommendation 
of  the  superintendent. 

(n)  "*  *  *  On  the  business  side,  the  board  of  education,  by  placing  in 
the  hands  of  a  superintendent  of  supplies,  a  superintendent  of  buildings  and 
a  superintendent  of  schools,  the  manifold  details  arising  in  this  department, 
escapes  the  worry,  irritation  and  annoyance  which  a  discussion  over  such  trivial 
matters  always  brings  to  the  members  of  the  board.  As  a  result  the  members 
of  the  board  of  education  will  have  ample  time  to  discuss  great  questions  of 
school  policy  and  lend  valuable  aid  to  the  solution  of  many  vexed  questions 
relative  to  the  schools." — "Education  in  the  Greater  New  York,"  by  Frank  A. 
Fitzpatrick,  in  Educational  Review,  May,  1897. 

(12)"In  other  words,  we  are  to  take  the  general  course  which  experience 
leads  all  intelligent  people  to  take  concerning  the  administration  of  great  enter- 
prises, in  order  to  justify  the  theories  upon  which  they  are  acting,  and  make 
sure  of  the  ends  for  which  they  are  striving.  We  must  do  all  business  upon  a 
business  basis.  We  must  departmentalize  the  work ;  build  up  the  administra- 
tive organs  on  bed- rock  principles;  confer  needed  authority  upon  officials,  give 
them  positions  of  character  and  dignity,  afford  them  security,  direct  their  pro- 
ceedings by  law  and  punish  them  if  they  disregard  the  directions.  There  are 
men  and  women  who  will  not  scramble  for  these  positions,  but  who  would  fill 
them  capably  and  conscientiously,  and  they  can  be  found.  It  is  for  the  sub- 
stantial sentiment  of  the  city  to  tear  down  social,  political  and  other  kinds  of 
fences,  bring  contributing  citizens  together,  lay  aside  everything  but  the  common 
good,  lay  plans  which  are  more  scientific  and  find  representatives  to  carry  them 
out." — "The  Crucial  Test,"  by  Andrezv  S.  Draper. 

"The  function  of  the  board  of  education  is  legislative  primarily,  and  sec- 
ondarily it  is  administrative;  and  for  the  latter  it  should  divide  the  work  into 
separate  departments,  each  with  a  responsible  head." — "City  School  Administra- 
tion," by  Albert  P.  Marble,  in  Educational  Review,  September,  1894. 

(13)  "The  report  is  correct  in  recommending  that  there  be  a  clear  distinc- 
tion made  between  the  legitimate  duties  of  the  board  of  education  and  those 
executive  duties  which  experience  shows  that  no  board  can  efficiently  or  wisely 
discharge.  The  executive  duties  involved  in  a  school  administration  should 
be  intrusted  to  two  independent  officers — a  business  manager  or  director,  and 
a  superintendent  of  instruction— and  the  duties  of  these  officers  should  not  only 
be  properly  co-ordinated,  but  the  authority  and  general  duties  of  each  should 
be  clearly  defined  by  state  law,  and  not  by  the  rules  of  the  board  of  education." — 
E.  E.  W hit e,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1895,  p.  390. 


25 


SECTION    I. THAT   A   BUSINESS    MANAGER    BE   APPOINTED   AT   A    YEARLY 

SALARY  NOT  TO  EXCEED  $10,000,  UNDER  A  CONTRACT  FOR  A  TERM  OF 
SIX  YEARS/  PROVIDED,  THAT  HE  MAY  BE  REMOVED  ONLY  FOR  CAUSE 
UPON  WRITTEN  CHARGES  BY  A  VOTE  OF  NOT  LESS  THAN  TWO-THIRDS 
OF  THE  ENTIRE   BOARD.  (14) 

The  duties  of  the  business  manager  under  the  plan  which  your  com- 
mission proposes,  are  so  far  reaching  and  so  important,  that  nothing  less 
than  the  highest  business  ability  and  integrity  can  insure  their  proper  ful- 
fillment. C15)  In  order  to  secure  a  man  who  may  fairly  be  expected  to 
manage  satisfactorily  the  enormous  business  interests  of  the  board  of  edu- 

(l-i)  "In  this  connection  I  take  the  liberty  of  proposing  and  advocating  a 
measure  contemplating  a  radical  change  in  the  policy  of  the  business  manage- 
ment of  the  affairs  of  this  board.  I  believe  that  the  history  of  this  depart- 
ment will  justify  the  judgment  that  the  economic  interests  of  this  board  have 
not  been  subserved,  nor  can  they  be  promoted  by  our  current  methods  of  busi- 
ness. The  conflicting  phases  of  semi-responsibility  in  the  direction  of  minor 
interests  render  it  impossible  to  fasten  accountability  upon  any  one  set  of  men. 
Definite  responsibility  and  exacting  accountability  should  ever  be  the  under- 
lying and  governing  principle  of  every  organization  to  which  is  committed 
fiduciary  trust.  If  our  affairs  were  conducted  on  the  plan  or  by  the  methods 
pursued"  in  such  private  enterprises  as  great  business  houses,  large  banking 
corporations  or  extensive  railroad  directories — and  why  they  are  not  I  am  at  a 
loss  to  conceive— I  feel  sure  that  within  an  incredibly  short  period  of  time  we 
should  realize  a  marvelous  and  gratifying  change  for  the  better  in  the  admin- 
istration of  the  business  affairs  of  this  board.  Division  of  labor  is  a  prime 
principle  of  industrial  economy,  only  when  each  department  is  made  subservient 
to  the  interest  of  the  whole  of  which  it  forms  a  part.  Not  the  least  noteworthy 
application  of  this  principle  is  found  in  the  employment  of  certain  true  and 
tried  men.  whose  office  it  is  to  give  directions  to  and  hold  in  review  the  agencies 
necessary  for  the  conduct  of  any  large  business  interest.  As  there  is  a  govern- 
ing principle,  so  there  is  in  all  successful  enterprises  a  governing  power.  A 
clear,  well-balanced  mind  is  seldom  at  conflict  with  itself;  hence  the  wisdom 
of  making  selection  of  one  responsible  head  of  affairs,  to  whom  may  be  com- 
mitted the  management  of  the  same,  and  who  is  empowered  to  work  out  his 
own  plans  with  an  eye  single  to  an  accountability  that  is  commensurate  with 
his  trusted  powers.  Could  this  board  see  its  way  clear  to  the  adoption  of  such 
measures  governing  the  management  of  its  business.  I  humbly  and  confidently 
submit  it  would  insure  such  a  conservation  of  its  interests  and  secure  such  an 
improvement  in  the  conduct  of  its  affairs  as  would  carry  conviction  of  the  wisdom 
of  such  a  provision  to  the  most  incredulous." — D.  R.  Cameron,  President's  Report, 
Chicago  Board  of  Education.  1896. 

(15)  "The  business  department  should  have  charge  of  all  the  property  inter- 
ests of  the  system.  It  should  make  the  contracts  and  see  to  their  execution, 
appoint  janitors  and  remove  them,  and  be  held  responsible  for  the  condition 
of  the  property.  The  head  of  this  department  must  be  a  business  man  of 
good  experience  and  well-known  independence  and  probity,  who  is  strongly 
sympathetic  with  the  noble  ends  for  which  the  public  school  stands." — "The 
Crucial  Test."  by  Andreiv  S.  Draper. 

"The  chief  executive  officer  on  the  business  side  should  be  charged  with  the 
care  of  all  property  and  with  the  duty  of  keeping  it  in  suitable  condition  ;  he 
should  provide  all  necessary  furnishings  and  appliances;  he  should  make  all 
agreements  and  see  that  they  are  properly  performed :  he  should  appoint  all 
assistants,  janitors  and  workmen  ;  he  should  do  all  that  the  law  contemplates  and 

26 


cation,  it  will  be  necessary  to  pay  what  may  at  first  thought  seem  a  large 
salary.  But  in  consideration  of  the  admitted  need  of  such  an  officer,  a  need 
which  has  been  repeatedly  recognized  by  those  who  have  been  most  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  work  of  the  board  (16),  and  of  the  possibilities 
which  are  opened  under  this  plan  for  greater  efficiency  of  service 
and  a  large  saving  in  expense,  by  a  more  economical  and  business- 
like management (17),  your  commission  feels  assured  that  the  good  judg- 
ment of  the  community  will  approve  the  policy  of  paying  a  large  salary 

all  that  the  board  authorizes  concerning  the  business  affairs  of  the  school  system, 
and  when  anything  goes  wrong  he  should  answer  for  it.— Committee  of 
Fifteen,  p.  no. 

(!6)  "I  find  the  business  affairs  of  the  board  largely  managed  in  detail  by 
different  departments,  each  separate  and  distinct,  under  the  general  control 
of  some  special  committee,  which  recommends  to  the  board  such  expenditure 
of  money  as  they  deem  advisable,  according  to  the  knowledge  they  have  or  the 
wants  of  the  schools ;  but  the  expenditure  of  this  large  appropriation  as  a  whole 
is  under  the  control  of  no  one  particular  person,  with  no  individual  responsi- 
bility resting  upon  anyone.  I  know  that  the  business  affairs  of  the  board  are 
honestly  and  faithfully  conducted,  but  can  they  be  judiciously  and  economically 
conducted  under  such  a  system  ?  I  think  not,  nor  can  the  best  results  be  obtained 
from  such  methods. 

"In  my  judgment,  the  proper  administration  of  your  affairs  requires  the 
appointment  of  some  one  person  who  could  devote  all  his  time  to  this  work, 
and  for  which  he  should  receive  a  salary  commensurate  with  the  responsibility. 
He  should  have  all  the  power  usually  given  the  presidents  of  large  corpora- 
tions, have  full  charge  and  authority  over  all  the  business  affairs  of  the  board 
and  all  its  business  employes ;  the  heads  of  the  business  departments  should 
report  directly  to  him  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  their  departments  ;  he  should 
examine  the  value  of  school  sites  before  purchasing,  investigate  all  requests 
for  improvements  and  for  repairs  of  all  school  buildings,  superintend  the  letting 
of  all  contracts,  oversee  all  expenditures  and  audit  all  disbursements — in  short, 
he  should  have  full  power  to  conduct  the  business  affairs  of  the  board  upon 
the  same  principles  and  methods  as  are  used  in  large  corporations  organized 
to  make  money.  A  man  with  such  powers  would  be  in  touch  with  all  the 
necessary  needs  of  the  schools  and  their  relation  to  each  other,  as  well  as  the 
resources  of  the  board,  and  would  also  be  in  a  position  to  advise  the  members 
so  that  they  would  act  in  an  intelligent  manner;  and  they  would  judiciously 
and  economically  expend  and  distribute  the  large  sums  of  money  intrusted  to 
their  care.  Such  action,  I  think,  would  often  save  to  the  city  extravagant  and 
useless  expenditure,  and  to  the  individual  members  much  time  and  perplexity." — 
John  McLaren,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1803. 

"*  *  *  It  is  admitted,  though,  that  in  our  efforts  to  place  safeguards 
around  our  business  transactions,  we  have  established  a  government  by  com- 
mittee which  must  be  modified  materially.  We  have  a  series  of  committees  dis- 
posing in  many  instances  of  petty  details  which  should  be  left  to  competent 
employes." — E.  G.  Halle,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1898. 

(17)  "There  is  no  good  reason  why  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
or  Chicago  should  not  save  money  in  school  expenses  and  at  the  same  time  see 
the  physical  condition  of  the  property  improve,  the  financial  statement  look 
healthier  and  the  teaching  advance  in  quality  and  tone,  if  they  would  make  a 
school  organization  in  accord  with  the  principles  which  the  world's  experiences 
have  shown  to  be  imperative  to  the  conduct  of  all  good  enterprises  and  the 
enforcement  of  the  rights  of  the  people  who  are  interested  in  these  enterprises." — 
"The  Crucial  Test,"  by  Andrew  S.  Draper. 


to  this  position. (18)  Moreover,  as  the  salary  which  can  fairly  be  proposed 
for  the  business  manager,  will  in  any  case  be  less  than  that  which  similar 
ability  will  command  in  other  business  enterprises,  your  commission  be- 
lieves that  this  position  should  be  made  in  other  ways  attractive  to  the 
right  man.  The  term  of  office  should  be  sufficiently  long  to  free 
the  business  manager  from  the  uncertainties  of  frequent  elections  and  to 
assure  him  a  full  opportunity  both  to  demonstrate  his  abilities  and  to  test 
fairly  the  business  system  which  may  commend  itself  to  his  judgment. 
Subject,  therefore,  to  removal  in  case  of  incompetency  or  lack  of  integrity, 
he,  as  well  as  the  other  executive  officers  of  the  board,  should  be  appointed 
for  the  term  of  six  years  suggested. 

SECTION    2. THAT    HE   SHALL   NOMINATE   AND,    SUBJECT   TO   THE    PRIOR 

APPROVAL  OF  THE  BOARD,  APPOINT  THE  ARCHITECT  OR  ARCHITECTS  OF 
SCHOOL  BUILDINGS,  AND  ADVERTISE  AND  AWARD  CONTRACTS  FOR 
THE  CONSTRUCTION  AND  REPAIR  OF  SUCH  BUILDINGS  EITHER  WHOLLY 
OR  IN  PART,  AND  FOR  THE  PURCHASE  OF  ALL  SUPPLIES  REQUIRED  FOR 
THE  BOARD  AND  SCHOOLS,  OR  OFFICERS  AND  EMPLOYES  OF  THE  BOARD, 
PROVIDED,  THAT  HE  MAY,  WITHOUT  SUCH  PRIOR  APPROVAL,  EXPEND  FOR 
REPAIRS  AND  SUPPLIES  A  SUM  NOT  TO  EXCEED  $200  IN  EACH  CASE. 

The  construction  of  school  buildings  is  one  of  the  first  duties  devolving 
upon  the  board  of  education,  and  cannot  in  any  way  be  delegated  to  others. 
To  determine  how  many  buildings  are  necessary  for  school  purposes,  where 
these  should  be  located,  what  funds  should  be  set  aside  for  this  purpose, 
are  questions  to  be  settled  directly  by  the  board,  on  the  initiative  of  the 

(!8)  "It  is  my  belief  that  a  competent  man  of  affairs,  with  large  executive 
powers,  conversant  with  men  and  values,  informed  as  to  the  mutual  interests 
of  all  parties  concerned  in  the  financial  transactions  of  the  board,  inflexible  in 
demanding  and  dispensing  justice  in  all  matters  of  reciprocal  interests,  if  chosen 
to  act  in  the  capacity  of,  let  me  suggest,  a  business  director  of  all  business 
affairs,  subject  always  to  review  by  the  board,  at  a  liberal  salary,  by  the  intro- 
duction of  business  methods  into  our  affairs,  so  effect  a  saving  in  our  expend- 
itures as  would  compensate  for  his  salary  many  times  over  and  bring  about 
a  more  rational  method  of  procedure  in  all  our  business  relations.  From  a 
merely  financial  point  of  view,  from  a  point  of  view  of  a  sensate  regard  for  every 
economic  administration  of  the  interests  of  the  board,  it  would  seem  that  we 
ought  to  set  the  seal  of  our  approval  on  this  measure.  Of  course,  such  an  officer 
should  have  privileges  and  powers  commensurate  with  his  responsibilities,  and 
nothing  should  be  exacted  of  him  except  an  economical  and  business-like  con- 
duct of  affairs.  By  such  a  provision  I  am  fain  to  believe  there  would  show 
up  annually  a  large  gain  in  our  balance  sheet,  sufficient  for  the  erection  of  several 
school  buildings,  ana  the  members  of  the  board  would  be  left  free  to  their 
legitimate  duties  in  committee  and  board  sessions  to  pass  upon  matters  of  legis- 
lation and  a  review  of  the  work  of  employes." — D.  R.  Cameron,  President's  Re- 
port, Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1896. 

28 


superintendent  and  with  the  advice  of  the  business  manager.  The  great 
expense  which  is  involved  in  securing  school  accommodations  necessitates 
the  utmost  care  on  the  part  of  the  board,  and  in  all  the  functions  attributed 
in  this  section  to  the  business  manager,  it  is  highly  necessary  that  his  action 
should  be  subject  to  its  approval.  But  your  commission  believes  that  all 
these  duties  fall  primarily  within  the  scope  of  his  office,  and  that  they  can 
be  filled  more  satisfactorily  by  him  in  connection  with  the  other  work 
assigned  to  him,  than  they  can  be  by  a  separate  officer- (19) 

The  responsibility  for  making  all  repairs  on  school  buildings  follows 
logically  the  assignment  of  the  construction  of  such  buildings  to  the  busi- 
ness manager.  It  has  been  customary  in  some  cities  to  give  the  purchase 
of  supplies  to  another  employe.  (20)  Your  commission  doubts  the  advisa- 
bility of  entire  differentiation  of  functions,  at  this  point,  but  sees  no  reason 
why  the  business  manager  should  not  assign  this  duty  to  a  responsible 
subordinate.  We  believe,  that  for  purposes  of  economy,  as  well  as  of  strict 
responsibility,  the  business  manager  should  be  required  to  make  purchases 
and  repairs  by  contract  where  possible  (21)  ;  provided,  however,  that  he 
may  in  emergency  cases  spend  a  small  sum  as  indicated  above. 

(19)  "The  commissioner  of  school  buildings  shall  be  appointed  by  the  board 
of  education  for  a  term  of  four  years,  during  which  term  his  compensation  shall 
not  be  reduced.  He  shall  devote  all  his  time  to  the  duties  of  his  office  and 
shall  be  charged  with  the  care  of  the  public  school  buildings  of  such  city,  and 
with  the  responsibility  for  all  the  ventilation,  warming,  sanitary  conditions  and 
proper  repair  thereof.  He  shall  prepare  or  cause  to  be  prepared  all  specifica- 
tions and  drawings  required,  and  shall  superintend  the  construction  and  repair 
of  all  such  buildings ;  shall  make  report  each  month  to  the  board  of  education, 
showing  in  detail  the  cost  of  repairs  and  other  work  for  the  previous  month 
on  each  building,  embodying  therein  the  amount  of  bills  outstanding  for  the 
work  ordered  by  him,  and  stating  specifically  the  cases  where  work  was  done 
or  ordered  without  public  letting;  shall  superintend  all  the  advertisements 
for  bids  and  the  letting  of  contracts ;  and  shall,  within  the  limits  of  appropria- 
tions theretofore  made  by  the  board  of  education  for  repairs,  make  all  contracts 
for  the  repairs  of  school  property,  except  where  the  cost  of  such  repairs  shall 
exceed  the  cost  of  fifty  dollars.  He  shall  give  bond  in  such  sum  as  may  be 
fixed  by  the  board  of  education,  which  shall  not  be  less  th_n  ten  thousand  dollars, 
conditioneu  upon  the  faithful  performance  of  the  duties  of  his  office." — Charter 
St.  Louis  Board  of  Education,  Section  8. 

(20)  "The  superintendent  of  school  supplies  shall  take  and  subscribe  before 
the  secretary  or  the  clerk  of  the  board  of  education  the  oath  prescribed  by  the 
constitution  of  this  state,  and  shall  give  such  security  for  the  faithful  performance 
of  the  duties  of  his  office  as  the  board  of  education  may  direct ;  and  the  depart- 
ment under  his  charge  shall  be  subject  to  such  rules  and  regulations  as  the  board 
may  establish." — Charter  of  the  City  of  New  York,  Section  1,078. 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  supply  commissioner  to  take  charge  of  the  sup- 
plies, text-books,  apparatus  and  all  personal  property  of  the  board,  not  includ- 
ing furniture,  and  attend  to  the  distribution  of  the  same  upon  proper  requisi- 
tion from  the  schools  or  the  various  departments  of  the  schools  under  the 
board." — Rules  St.  Louis  Board  of  Education,  Rule  10,  Section  1. 

(21)  "The  board  of  education  shall  have  oower  to  enact  by-laws  and  resolu- 
tions for  the  government  of  the  superintendent  of  supplies,  which  by-laws  and 

29 


SECTION  3. — THAT  THE  BUSINESS  MANAGER  SHALL  EXERCISE  A  CAREFUL 
OVERSIGHT  OVER  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  ALL  SCHOOL  BUILDINGS,  AND 
OVER  ALL  REPAIRS  ON   SUCH   BUILDINGS. 

The  duties  attributed  here  to  the  business  manager  are  among  those 
for  which  he  is  naturally  responsible,  but  which,  in  common  with  others, 
may  be  assigned  by  permission  of  the  board  to  a  subordinate  answerable 
to  him  for  their  proper  fulfillment. 

SECTION    4. THAT   THE   BUSINESS    MANAGER   HAVE  THE   APPOINTMENT, 

DIRECTION  AND  DISCHARGE,  UNDER  CIVIL  SERVICE  RULES,  AND  IN  AC- 
CORDANCE WITH  A  SCHEDULE  OF  SALARIES  ESTABLISHED  BY  THE  BOARD, 
OF  THE  JANITORS,  ENGINEERS  AND  OTHER  PERSONS  WHOM  HE  SHALL 
REQUIRE  TO  ASSIST  HIM  IN  THE  BUSINESS  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  BOARD; 
PROVIDED,  THAT  ALL  SUCH  APPOINTMENTS,  PROMOTIONS  AND  DISMIS- 
SALS SHALL  BE  REPORTED  TO  THE  BOARD  AT  ITS  NEXT  REGULAR  MEETING, 
AND  SHALL  STAND  AS  FINAL  UNLESS  DISAPPROVED  BY  A  MAJORITY 
VOTE  OF  ALL  THE  MEMBERS  THEREOF  NOT  LATER  THAN  THE  SECOND 
MEETING  AFTER  THE  REPORT  IS  MADE  THERETO. 

In  order  to  secure  an  efficient  administration  for  the  board,  it  is  clear 
that  the  executive  officer  selected  by  its  members  should  be  given  the  ap- 
pointment, direction  and  discharge  of  the  employes  in  his  department.  (22) 

resolution?  shall  provide  that  all  supplies,  as  far  as  possible,  shall  be  obtained 
by  contract,  for  which  proposals  shall  be  advertised  for  a  period  of  at  least  two 
weeks."— Charter  of  the  City  of  New  York,  Section  1,076. 

(22)  ''Subject  to  the  approval  of  the  board  of  education  as  to  number  and 
salaries,  the  commissioner  of  school  buildings  shall  have  power  to  appoint  as 
many  engineers,  janitors  and  other  employes  and  agents  as  may  be  necessary 
for  the  proper  performance  of  the  duties  of  his  department,  for  whom  he  shall 
be  responsible  and  whom  he  shall  have  the  power  to  remove ;  but  the  board 
of  education  may  provide  for  competitive  examination  for  the  position  of  janitors 
and  engineers ;  and  when  such  provision  shall  have  been  made,  the  commis- 
sioner of  school  buildings  may  be  required  by  the  board  to  appoint  janitors 
and  engineers  from  the  list  obtained  by  such  examination.  He  shall  appoint 
such  assistants  and  deputies  as  may  be  authorized  by  the  board  of  education, 
whose  compensation  shall  be  fixed  by  the  board;  and  one  of  said  assistants 
shall  be  a  trained  engineer,  qualified  to  design  and  construct  the  heating,  venti- 
lating and  sanitary  machinery  and  apparatus  connected  with  the  public  school 
buildings.  Such  assistants  and  deputies  shall  be  subject  to  removal  by  the 
commissioner  of  public  buildings,  who  shall  be  responsible  for  the  proper  per- 
formance of  their  duties.  The  commissioner  of  school  buildings  may  be  removed 
by  the  board  of  education  for  cause,  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  entire  board. 
He  shall  perform  such  other  duties  as  may  be  required  of  him  by  the  board."— 
Charter  St.  Louis  Board  of  Education,  Section  p. 

"I  believe  that  the  application  of  civil  service  rules  to  the  appointment  and 
tenure  of  janitors  and  engineers  is  a  wise  provision  and  would  serve  to  secure 
more  efficient  help  and  to  reduce  the  proportion  of  ward  workers  and  petty  poli- 
ticians appointed  to  such  positions." — A  Chicago  Principal. 


The  danger  imminent  in  this  direction,  of  the  appointment  of  unfit  em- 
ployes and  the  possibility  of  any  connection  of  school  affairs  in  this  matter 
with  the  party  politics  of  the  city,  may  be  avoided,  we  believe,  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  civil  service  rules,  applying  especially  to  the  school  system 
of  the  city.  (23)  In  the  appointment  of  employes  the  business  manager 
should  be  left  as  free  as  possible,  but  in  order  to  avoid  the  temptations 
which  come  with  absolute  power,  his  action  should  be  subject  in  this,  as 
well  as  in  other  particulars,  to  revision  by  a  majority  of  the  board. 

SECTION    5. THAT     THE      BUSINESS      MANAGER      PERFORM      ALL      OTHER 

EXECUTIVE  DUTIES  RELATING  TO  TLIE  BUSINESS  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  BOARD, 
BUT  NOT  SUBJECT  TO  ITS  PRIOR  APPROVAL,  AND  REPORT  SUCH  ACTS, 
TOGETHER  WITH  A  STATEMENT  OF  ALL  EXPENDITURES  FOR  REPAIRS  AND 
SUPPLIES  NOT  EXCEEDING  $200  IN  EACH  CASE,  AT  THE  NEXT  REGULAR 
MEETING  OF  THE  BOARD;  SAID  ACTS  AND  EXPENDITURES  TO  STAND 
AS  FINAL,  UNLESS  DISAPPROVED  BY  A  MAJORITY  VOTE  OF  ALL  THE 
MEMBERS  THEREOF  NOT  LATER  THAN  THE  SECOND  MEETING  AFTER  THE 
REPORT  IS  MADE  THERETO  ; 

SECTION    6. THAT  HE  SHALL  HAVE  THE  CHARGE  AND  CUSTODY  OF  THE 

SECURITIES  OF  THE  BOARD,  AND  UNDER  CLOSE  DIRECTION,  ACT  AS  ITS 
FINANCIAL  AGENT; 

SECTION    7. THAT,  BEFORE  ENTERING  UPON  HIS  DUTIES,  HE  SHALL  GIVE 

A  BOND  OF  NOT  LESS  THAN  $150,000,  RUNNING  TO  AND  APPROVED  BY 
THE  BOARD,  AND  CONDITIONED  UPON  THE  FAITHFUL  PERFORMANCE  OF 
THE  DUTIES  OF  HIS  OFFICE. 

Apart  from  the  reservations  already  made,  the  business  manager  should 
be  left  free  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  subject  only  to  due  report  of  his 
action  in  each  case  at  the  next  regular  meeting  of  the  board. 

To  the  business  manager  should  be  assigned  also  the  execution  of  the 
financial  policy  of  the  board ;  under  close  supervision  he  should  look  after 
the  investment  and  collect  the  interest  of  school  funds,  the  rents  of  school 
lands  and  keep  the  accounts  of  all  special  funds  under  the  control  of  the 
board. 

In  consideration  of  the  importance  of  the  interests  in  his  charge,  the 
business  manager  should  be  required,  as  is  common  in  all  such  cases,  to 
give  a  bond,  for  at  least  the  sum  indicated,  to  the  board  of  education  for 
the  proper  performance  of  his  work. 

(23)   On  the  legal  status  of  the  board  of  education,  see  Appendix  I. 


Of  ^pstrm  of  ~r!jooi 
jrupnutsion 


ARTICLE  III 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends  in  regard  to  the  system 
of  school  supervision^1) 

SECTION  i. — (a)  that  the  superintendent  of  schools  ee  ap- 
pointed AT  A  YEARLY  SALARY  NOT  TO  EXCEED  $10,000,  UNDER  CON- 
tract for  a  term  of  six  years  ;  provided,  that  he  may  be  removed 
before  the  expiration  of  his  term  only  for  cause  on  written 
charges,  by  a  vote  of  not  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  entire 
board; 

(b)  that  he  have  the  general  charge  and  supervision  of 
the  teachers  and  teaching  in  the  public  schools; 

(c)  that  he  have,  after  consultation  with  the  assistant 
superintendents,  the  supervisors  and  the  principals,  the  de- 
termination of  the  course  of  study,  the  choice  of  text-books 
and  apparatus  used  in  teaching  in  the  schools,  within  the 
appropriation  of  the  board,  and  subject  to  disapproval  by  a 
majority  vote  of  all  the  members  thereof  not  later  than 
the  second  meeting  after  the  report  is  made  thereto; 

(d)  that  he  appoint  assistant  superintendents,  supervisors, 
teachers,  and  attendance  officers  to  such  positions  as  the 
board  of  education  shall  from  time  to  time  authorize,  promote 
or  reduce  teachers  and  fix  their  salaries  under  the 
schedule  provided,  and  dismiss  under  the  rules  any  appointees 
named  in  this  section  ;  provided,  however,  that  all  such  ap- 
pointments, promotions,  compensations,  and  dismissals  shall 

(1)  "The  same  arguments,  the  same  considerations  for  efficient  manage- 
ment which  apply  to  the  business  affairs  of  the  board,  demand  a  like  provision 
for  our  educational  interests.  No  great  industry,  no  great  institution,  can  be 
successfully  directed  except  upon  the  executive  plan;  that  is,  by  and  through 
the  employment  of  men  and  women  of  high  grade,  who  are  trained  in  the 
department  of  work  submitted  to  their  direction.  It  is  a  fallacy  to  consider  the 
board  of  education  both  a  legislative  and  executive  body.  In  the  very  nature 
of  things  it  cannot  execute  with  efficiency." — D.  R.  Cameron.  ex-Presidint 
Chicago  Board  of  Education. 

32 


BE  REPORTED  TO  THE  BOARD  AND  SHALL  STAND  AS  FINAL,  UNLESS  I 
DISAPPROVED  BY  A  MAJORITY  VOTE  OF  ALL  THE  MEMBERS  THEREOF 
NOT  LATER  THAN  THE  SECOND  MEETING  AFTER  THE  REPORT  IS  MADE 
THERETO  ;  PROVIDED,  FURTHER,  THAT  NONE  OF  THESE  APPOINTMENTS 
BE  MADE  AND  NO  TEACHER  BE  PROMOTED  UNTIL  AFTER  EXAMINATION 
AND  APPROVAL  BY  AN  EXAMINING  BOARD  HEREINAFTER  PROVIDED  FOR; 

(e)  THAT  UPON  THE  APPLICATION  OF  ANY  PERSON  FOR  A  CERTIFI- 
CATE AS  A  TEACHER,  AFTER  THE  EXAMINATION  AND  APPROVAL  OF  SAID 
APPLICANT  BY  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD,  HE  ISSUE  TO  THE  APPLICANT 
A  PROVISIONAL  CERTIFICATE  OF  QUALIFICATION  FOR  TWO  YEARS, 
WHICH,  AFTER  PROOF  OF  SUCCESS  FOR  THIS  PERIOD,  SHALL  BE  MADE 
PERMANENT  FOR  CONTINUOUS  SERVICE  WITHOUT  FURTHER  EXAMINA- 
TION : 

(f)  THAT  HE  HAVE  A  SEAT  AND  THE  PRIVILEGES  OF  THE  FLOOR  IN     ■- 
THE  BOARD,  BUT  NO  VOTE  ; 

SECTION  2. —  (a)   that  the  assistant  superintendents  be  put  in 

CHARGE  OF  NOT  MORE  THAN  TWENTY-FIVE  SCHOOLS  EACH,  AND  THAT 
THE  PRESENT  NUMBER  OF  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENTS  BE  INCREASED 
TO   MEET  THIS   PROPORTION  ; 

(b)  THAT  THE  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENTS  SEVERALLY  REPRESENT 
THE  SUPERINTENDENT  IN  THE  SCHOOLS  WHICH  MAY  BE  PLACED 
UNDER  THEIR  CHARGE,  AND  BE  GIVEN  DEFINED  RIGHTS  OF  CONSULTA- 
TION IN  REGARD  TO  THE  APPOINTMENT,  TLIE  PROMOTION  AND  THE  DIS- 
MISSAL OF  TEACHERS  IN   THEIR  SCHOOLS; 

(c)  THAT  ONE  ASSISTANT  SERVE,  WHEN  CHOSEN  FOR  THIS  PURPOSE 
BY  THE  SUPERINTENDENT,  WITH  OTHER  PERSONS  HEREINAFTER 
DESIGNATED,  ON   THE  EXAMINING  BOARD; 

SECTION    3. THAT    THE    SUPERVISORS   OF    SPECIAL    SUBJECTS    HAVE    THE 

GENERAL  CHARGE  OF  THEIR  SEVERAL  SUBJECTS  IN  THE  NORMAL,  THE 
HIGH  AND  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  AND  THAT  AN  ASSISTANT  SUPER- 
VISOR IN  EACH  SUBJECT  BE  APPOINTED  IF  NECESSARY,  IN  EACH  DISTRICT 
OR  CLOSELY  CONNECTED  GROUP  OF  DISTRICTS; 

SECTION    4. THAT    THE    PRINCIPAL    BE    GIVEN     BY     1111.    BOARD    DEFINED 

PRIVILEGES   OF   CONSULTATION  : 

(a)  IN  THE  APPOINTMENT,  PROMOTION  AND  REMOVAL  OF  TEACH- 
ERS IN  HIS  OWN  SCHOOL  ; 

(b)  IN  THE  CARRYING  OUT  WITHIN  PROPER  LIMITATIONS  OF  THE 
COURSE  OF  STUDY,  AND 

(c)  IN  THE  CHOICE  OF  TEXT-BOOKS,  AND 
2.    THAT   HE  BE  GIVEN    DEFINED  RIGHTS  : 

33 


(a)  IN  THE  APPLICATION  AND  EXTENSION  OF  THE  DEPARTMENTAL 
PLAN  OF  INSTRUCTION,  SUBJECT  TO  THE  GENERAL  SUPERVISION  OF  THE 
ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENTS  J  AND 

(b)  IN  THE  SUPERVISION  OF  THE  WORK  OF  THE  JANITORS  AND 
ENGINEERS  \ 

SECTION   5. THAT  THE   PRINCIPAL  BE  DIRECTED  TO  TEACH   DURING  NOT 

LESS  THAN  ONE-HALF  OF  EACH  SCHOOL  DAY  \ 

SECTION  6. — THAT  EXPERT  INSPECTORS  BE  EMPLOYED  BY  THE  BOARD 
FROM  TIME  TO  TIME  TO  STUDY  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM  OF  THE  CITY  AND 
MAKE    REPORTS    AND    RECOMMENDATIONS    TO    THE    BOARD. 


Your  commission  has  pointed  out  the  weighty  duties  which  devolve 
on  the  board  of  education  in  a  large  city  in  carrying  on  the  business  ad- 
ministration of  its  affairs (2),  and  the  varied  difficulties  which  confront 
the  members  in  this  direction.  We  have  recommended  a  consistent  prin- 
ciple to  be  followed  in  managing  the  business  affairs  of  the  school  system, 
and  have  in  outline  suggested  a  plan  necessitating  the  utmost  care  in  the 
revision  of  the  school  law  applying  to  our  city,  and  requiring  ability  and 
intelligence  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  the  board  to  render  it  operative 
and  effective  in  its  application. 

However,  great  as  should  be  public  concern  for  an  efficient  and  econom- 
ical plan  of  administering  the  business  affairs  of  the  board,  the  importance 
and  the  inherent  difficulty  of  securing  the  desired  results  on  the  educa- 
tional side,  are  much  greater.  This  problem  affects  the  interests  of  the 
people  much  more  deeply  and  directly,  and  accordingly  should  arouse 
a  far  keener  solicitude  in  the  mind  of  every  intelligent  citizen.  (3)  Ill- 
chosen  sites  and  unsanitary  and  badly  constructed  school  buildings  im- 
peril the  children  in  many  of  our  American  cities;  but  superintendents 
of  instruction,  who  are  not  properly  qualified  for  the  duties  of  their  office. 
or  whose  efficiency  is  lessened,  and  in  some  cases  almost  nullified,  by  the 

(2)  See  Article  II. 

(3)  "If  it  is  difficult  to  manage  the  business  of  the  schools,  it  is  infinitely 
more  so  to  secure  life-giving  instruction.  It  is  strange  that  we  need  to  remind 
ourselves  now  and  then  that  the  end  for  which  the  schools  exist  is  not  to 
gratify  contractors  or  provide  places,  but  to  supply  instruction.  If  anything 
has  stood  in  the  way  of  the  fullest  development  of  the  schools,  it  has  been  the 
apparent  readiness  to  accept  anything  that  passed  under  the  name  of  instruc- 
tion ;  and  the  most  gratifying  sign  in  the  educational  heavens  is  the  closer  dis- 
crimination with  which  people  are  beginning  to  look  upon  what  is  done  in  the 
schools.  And  when  the  people  begin  to  determine  the  differing  values  of  instruc- 
tion they  come  to  the  great  question  of  the  organization  and  supervision  of  the 
teaching  force." — "The  Crucial  Test,"  by  Andrew  S.  Draper. 

34 


mischievous  interference  of  the  board  of  education — principals  who  are  not 
awakened  to  their  responsibilities,  or  are  not  competent  to  discharge 
these — affect  the  intelligence  and  happiness  of  the  next  generation  much 
more  seriously  and  offer  a  basis  for  far  more  severe  criticism  of  the  public 
schools.  A  janitor,  selected  as  frequently  happens  in  large  cities  for  rea- 
sons other  than  his  fitness  for  the  position,  will  cause  discomfort  and  some- 
times real  suffering  to  a  thousand  children  by  a  neglect  of  his  duties,  arising 
not  infrequently  from  a  well  justified  belief  in  the  strength  of  his  political 
"pull."  A  teacher,  however,  who  has  been  appointed  in  spite  of  his  incom- 
petence, through  the  personal  influence  of  a  member  of  the  board,  acting 
for  himself  or  his  friends  (4),  and  who  has  been  retained  against  the  pro- 
test of  the  superintendent  and  his  assistants,  and  of  the  principal,  is  a  source 
of  infinitely  greater  harm  to  the  living  interests  of  the  city.  Your  com- 
mission, therefore,  unhesitatingly  affirms  its  belief  in  the  supreme  im- 
portance of  establishing  a  system  of  supervision  which  will,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, correct  these  evils.  Such  a  system,  we  maintain,  must  definitely  and 
finally  concentrate  all  authority  in  an  officer  who  shall  be  weighted  with 
responsibility,  and  above  all,  shall  be  independent  of  any  personal  or  politi- 
cal manipulation  and  interference. 

At  the  head  of  this  system  is  the  superintendent.  The  educational  his- 
tory of  the  country  shows  that  a  variety  of  methods  have  been  followed  in 
filling  this  office. (5)  Experience,  however,  clearly  points  to  the  advisa- 
bility of  his  selection  by  the  board  of  education.       His  tenure  of  office 

(4)  "School  boards  lay  larger  claims  to  character,  fitness  and  disinterest- 
edness than  aldermanic  boards,  and,  as  a  rule,  they  are  far  more  respectable 
and  responsible.  Occasionally  they  loot  the  treasury,  but  more  commonly  they 
do  what  is  not  technically  so  criminal,  but  what  is  in  effect  really  worse.  The 
circumstances  press  them  hard.  The  wrongs  they  do  or  suffer  to  be  done  are 
not  so  deep,  their  friends  and  not  themselves  get  the  benefit,  they  fail  to  appre- 
ciate or  deceive  themselves  about  the  harm  that  flows  from  their  acts." — Andrew 
S.  Draper,  in  Educational  Review,  June,  1893. 

(5)  "The  selection  of  the  superintendent  is  another  point  upon  which  there 
are  interesting  differences  of  practice.  He  is  usually  elected  by  the  school 
board,  but  in  San  Francisco,  Buffalo  and  in  some  other  cities  he  is  a  city  officer, 
and  is  chosen  at  a  popular  election.  A  man  must  be  a  good  politician  as  well 
as  a  good  educator  to  succeed  in  obtaining  office  under  these  conditions,  and 
the  field  of  choice  is  necessarilv  narrowed  to  men  well  known  and  popular  in 
the  city.  Such  a  thing  as  securing  a  superintendent  who  had  made  his  reputa- 
tion in  another  city  would  be  out  of  the  question.  Philadelphia  secured  both 
McAlister  and  Brooks  from  other  places ;  Cleveland,  Ohio,  brought  Draper 
from  New  York  and  Jones  from  Indianapolis,  and  many  others  of  the  successful 
superintendents  have  found  their  widest  field  in  places  far  distant  from  the 
scene  of  the  beginning  of  their  careers.  But  this  style  of  election  is  not  for 
San  Francisco  or  Buffalo." — James  C.  Boykin,  in  Educational  Review,  March, 
i897. 

35 


should  be  for  a  term  of  years.  (G)  There  is  hardly  a  more  striking  fact 
in  connection  with  school  supervision  in  the  United  States  than  the  usual 
shortness  of  the  period  during  which  a  particular  individual  has  performed 
the  duties  of  such  a  position.  (7)  This  has  arisen  partly  from  the  difficulty 
of  securing  good  men,  since  the  qualifications  which  a  superintendent 
should  possess  are  not  frequently  found  in  one  man.  What  a  superintendent 
should  be  has  occasionally  been  exemplified  in  the  case  of  some  fortunate 
city.(8)  What  he  should  not  be,  many  cities  have  learned  by  experience, 
although  in  many  cases  his  unfitness  has  not  been  made  evident  by  any 
action  of  the  board  of  education.  (9 )     A  superintendent  of  instruction  has 

(6)  "To  avoid  frequently  recurring  contests  which  create  discontent,  I 
recommend  unhesitatingly  that  the  term  of  office  of  the  superintendent  be  made 
four  years." — E.  G.  Halle,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  i8q8. 

"The  superintendent  is  properly  the  choice  of  the  board  of  education,  and 
should  hold  his  office  during  good  behavior,  subject  at  all  times  to  removal  for 
cause,  but  never  to  the  humility  of  an  annual  inspection  and  election.  He  repre- 
sents in  the  work  of  instruction  the  prevalent  sentiment  of  the  business  man- 
agement, so  far  as  their  business  has  to  do  with  teachers  and  pupils.  For  the 
time  he  stands  in  the  place  of  the  board,  acting  promptly,  and  conscious  that 
whatever  he  does  must  pass  under  review  and  be  approved  by  the  authorities 
whom  he  represents.  He  stands  pledged  to  pupils  and  to  the  public  for  the 
best  possible  use  of  all  school  appliances." — /.  L.  Pickard,  in  Education.  Sep- 
tember, 1883. 

"Even  this,  revolutionary  as  it  may  seem,  would  prove  ineffective  unless  the 
superintendent  be  protected,  so  long  as  he  proves  efficient,  in  the  possession  of 
his  office.  If  he  is  to  be  turned  out  of  office  at  the  end  of  a  two-year  or  a  three- 
year  term,  because  he  has  offended  some  local  member  of  the  board  of  education 
or  has  failed  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  some  politicians,  but  little  in  the  way  of 
reform  will  be  accomplished."—  W.  H.  Maxwell,  Superintendent  Brooklyn  Public 
Schools,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1894,  p.  321. 

(?)  The  average  life  of  a  superintendent  in  Michigan  is  two  years,  and 
men  of  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  schools  of  Illinois  and  Kansas  say  that 
the  number  of  city  superintendents  who  have  served  five  years  in  one  place  can 
almost  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand. 

(8)  "The  typical  superintendent  is  the  true  reformer.  He  is  never  con- 
tented with  things  as  they  are  if  he  can  discover  a  chance  for  improvement. 
He  has  the  capacity  to  profit  by  the  experience  of  others,  and  so  spares  no 
pains  in  making  himself  acquainted  with  the  best  things  that  have  been  thought 
and  done  touching  the  business  in  hand.  He  has  the  courage  of  his  convictions 
and  holds  firmly  to  what  he  believes  to  be  good.  His  aim  is  to  produce  better 
results  with  each  passing  day.  But  while  doing  his  best  to  administer  the  system 
in  the  most  judicious  and  effective  manner,  he  is  simultaneously  carrying  on 
another  work ;  I  mean  the  developing  and  perfecting  of  the  system  itself.  In 
this  sphere  of  his  labor  he  incurs  risks,  for  it  brings  him  more  or  less  in  con- 
flict with  the  views  of  members  of  the  board ;  but  this  risk  he  accepts,  trusting 
to  time  for  his  justification." — "City  School  Systems,"  p.  58,  by  John  D.  Philbrick. 

(9)  "The  typical  superintendent  of  the  other  class  is  one  of  a  different  char- 
acter. He  is  considerably  in  earnest  and  displays  no  little  activity  and  industry 
in  supervising  and  directing  the  minor  details  of  the  business.  His  supreme 
ambition  is  to  carry  on  the  routine  operations  of  the  system  with  as  little  friction 
as  possible,  and  with  this  end  in  view  he  virtually  says  to  his  board.  T  am  here 
to  obey  your  instructions.     Tell  me  what  to  do  and  I  will  do  it  with  alacrity 

.36 


often  proved  acceptable  to  the  members  of  a  board,  although  he  was  not 
a  man  who  in  the  long  run  could  or  would  bring  the  schools  of  the  city 
to  the  standard  of  usefulness  which  public  opinion  has  a  right  to  demand. 
The  qualifications  (10)  of  a  superintendent  should  be  high,  to  meet  the 
responsible  duties  which  have  been  recognized  as  falling  properly  to  his 
office^11)     He  is  the  executive  officer  of  the  board  in  all  its  educational 

and  delight.'  He  means  well,  is  fairly  intelligent,  and  has  a  sincere  desire  to 
make  himself  useful ;  but  he  does  not  possess  the  qualities  of  a  chief,  of  a  leader, 
of  an  organizer.  His  forte  lies  in  obeying  rather  than  directing.  He  performs 
a  good  deal  of  useful  drudgery  under  the  direction  of  the  committee.  His  reports 
are  meagre  in  valuable  information,  either  statistical  or  of  any  other  descrip- 
tion, about  the  schools.  In  place  of  pertinent  facts  and  suggestions,  he  substi- 
tutes rather  commonplace  generalities,  the  correctness  of  which  no  one  would 
think  of  calling  in  question,  winding  up  with  the  assurance  that,  thanks  to 
the  wisdom  of  the  board  and  faithfulness  and  ability  of  the  teachers,  the  schools 
have  made  commendable  progress  and  are  in  better  condition  than  ever  before. 
All  are  highly  gratified  to  be  thus  assured  and  are  highly  content  with  their 
amiable  and  industrious  superintendent."— "City  School  Systems,"  />.  59,  by  John 
D.  Philbrick. 

(10)"*  *  *  it  is  the  function  of  supervision  to  breathe  upon  a  school 
system  the  breath  of  life,  to  infuse  into  it  a  generous  purpose  and  to  direct 
it  toward  beneficent  ends.  This  presupposes  educational  ideas  and  an  expert 
knowledge  of  the  necessary  machinery  of  schools.  It  is  not  enough  that  a 
merely  intelligent  man,  equipped  only  with  empirical  notions,  should  assume 
the  responsible  duties  of  supervision.  Intelligence  and  executive  ability  are 
forceful  qualities  everywhere,  but  they  alone  do  not  equip  the  physician  or  the 
lawyer ;  neither  do  they  equip  the  educator.  To  the  necessary  basis  of  common 
sense  must  be  superadded  the  science  or  philosophy  of  education.  The  edu- 
cator must  be  deeply  and  fruitfully  read  in  the  literature  and  philosophy  of  his 
profession." — John  Ivennedy,  in  Educational  Review,  May,  1891. 

"He  should  be  a  graduate  of  a  college  or  higher  institution  of  learning;  he 
should  be  thoroughly  versed  in  the  science  of  pedagogy  and  sanitation ;  he  should 
have  large  experience  in  practical  teaching,  and  he  should  possess  high  moral 
character,  broad  scholarship  and  superior  executive  ability." — Albert  P.  Marble, 
in  Educational  Review,  September,  1894. 

(H)  "A  school  superintendent,  by  virtue  of  his  position,  has  the  oversight 
and  general  management  of  several  schools,  with  the  power  of  direction.  He  is 
an  examiner,  that  he  may  inquire  into  and  determine  all  matters  pertaining  to 
qualifications  of  teachers  and  pupils.  He  is  an  inspector,  that  he  may  make  a 
careful  survey  to  ascertain  the  quality  of  the  teaching,  the  character  of  the  man- 
agement, and  to  direct  whatever  may  be  wrong  in  matter  or  method  and  to  point 
out  the  means  of  correction.  He  is  a  supervisor,  that  he  may  oversee  carefully, 
advise  wisely  and  organize  and  direct  intelligently.  A  real  superintendent 
must  be  more  than  a  teacher,  more,  even,  than  a  merely  skilled  teacher.  He 
must  have  made  himself  familiar  with  the  best  methods  of  teaching,  with  their 
tendencies  and  their  results.  He  must  be  able  to  determine  from  the  processes 
employed  by  the  teacher  what  will  be  their  effect  on  the  pupil.  He  must  possess 
deep  and  broad  views  of  education  in  all  its  relations  to  the  mind  of  the  child 
and  of  the  man.  He  must  be  able  to  distinguish  a  plan  of  teaching  from  a  system, 
a  method  of  instruction  from  a  principle  of  education,  and  to  organize  and  adjust 
the  school  work  in  all  its  parts,  so  as  to  secure  a  proper  completeness  in  the 
system." — N.  A.  Calkins,  in  Education,  May,  1882. 

"The  superintendent's  office  must  not  only  inspect;  it  must  lead.  It  must 
be  considerate  and  sympathetic,  helpful  and  inspiring.     It  must  have  authority 

37 


functions ;  not  in  the  sense  of  a  mere  clerk  or  subordinate  chosen  to  carry 
out  details  of  work  fixed  for  him  by  the  members  (12),  but  rather  as  a 
cabinet  officer  or  minister,  to  formulate  and  put  in  operation  the  educa- 
tional policy  of  the  board,  and  to  assist  the  latter  in  their  efforts  to  educate, 
interpret  and  make  effective  the  desires  of  the  people  in  regard  to  their 
schools.  (13)     On  him  should  definitely  rest  the  responsibility  for  the  edu- 

and  it  must  act  justly.  Appointments  and  promotions  and  dismissals  must  be 
made  with  a  clear  head,  a  kind  heart  and  a  strong  hand,  without  fear  or  favor, 
but  with  a  determination  to  prevent  all  bad  teaching  and  lift  the  whole  force  to 
the  highest  plane  possible.  It  is  truly  surprising  how  the  common  sentiment 
of  a  teaching  force  fixes  the  status  of  each  of  its  own  members,  and  how  surely 
that  sentiment  knows  whether  the  acts  of  officials  spring  from  merit  -or  from 
influence.  In  one  case  the  force  will  be  without  energy,  self-confidence,  steadi- 
ness or  public  respect.  In  the  other  case  it  will  be  characterized  by  fraternal 
respect  and  mutual  regard,  and  it  will  show  power  and  versatility  which  will 
uplift  the  life  and  shape  the  character  of  the  city."— "The  Crucial  Test,"  by 
Andrew  S.  Draper. 

(12)  "A  school  board's  responsibility  to  the  people  and  its  obligations  to 
the  children  of  the  people  require  that  it  take  the  judgment  of  its  professional 
paid  executive  and  adviser  on  all  questions  relating  to  the  strictly  educational 
affairs  of  the  school.  Otherwise  the  term  superintendent  as  applied  to  him 
becomes  a  misnomer.  His  function  is  reduced  to  that  of  a  clerk  or  messenger. 
His  influence  as  an  inspirer  and  a  director  of  the  various  school  agencies  is 
minimized  to  mere  nothingness.  Still  more  to  be  deplored,  what  has  promised 
to  become  an  honorable  and  a  necessary  profession  in  the  economy  of  popular 
education  is  deprived  of  its  dignity  and  its  influence." — William  S.  Mack,  N.  E.  A. 
Proceedings,  1896,  p.  984. 

(13)  «*  *  *  The  superintendent  ought  to  be  the  educational  adviser  of  the 
board,  and  his  counsel  ought  to  command  the  same  respect  on  their  part  as  that  of 
a  city  solicitor  on  a  question  of  law,  or  that  of  the  city  physician  on  a  question  of 
sanitation  or  public  health.  He  ought  to  be  held  strictly  responsible  for  his 
advice,  just  as  they  are,  and  for  the  action  of  the  board  based  on  it.  He  and 
not  the  school  board  ought  to  be  held  responsible  by  the  public  for  the  course  of 
study  and  for  the  methods  of  teaching  in  the  schools.  If  his  advice  and  judgment 
are  found  to  be  untrustworthy,  the  school  board,  instead  of  retaining  him  and 
making  him  simply  their  clerk  and  agent,  and  assuming  the  responsibility  them- 
selves which  properly  belongs  to  him  as  an  expert,  ought  to  dismiss  him  and 
secure  a  person  whose  judgment  they  can  trust. 

"The  superintendent  ought  also  to  make  it  his  duty  to  fashion  and  shape  the 
educational  thought  of  the  community.  This  he  can  do  through  public  addresses, 
through  private  conferences  with  thoughtful  citizens,  and  through  the  daily 
papers.  He  ought  to  make  the  schools  known  and  popular  in  the  community.  In 
this  way  he  can  create  the  public  sentiment  which  he  needs  to  sustain  him  in 
every  step  he  takes  in  the  direction  of  improving  the  schools.  It  is  needless  to 
add  that  in  order  to  do  this  successfully,  he  must  be  a  scholar  and  must  in  some 
measure  possess  the  ability  of  stating  clearly  and  convincingly  his  own  convictions 
to  others." — Thomas  M.  Balliet,  in  Educational  Review,  Dec.  1891. 

"*  *  *  Finally,  the  first-class  superintendent  is  a  sort  of  pilot  for  the  whole 
system,  and  must  watch  the  rocks  and  breakers,  and  winds  and  clouds,  and 
look  often  from  them  to  the  eternal  stars  to  ascertain  the  drift  of  his  course.  The 
educational  journals  give  him  the  trend  of  other  systems,  the  daily  newspapers 
show  him  the  trend  of  public  opinion  far  and  near.  He  must  direct  his  own 
labors  and  the  labors  of  all  his  teachers  toward  making  the  school  strong  in  the 
community.  First,  they  must  do  good  work ;  and  secondly,  they  must  make  their 
community  feel  that  it  is  good  work  and  appreciate  it.     To  neglect  public  opinion 


cational  system,  and  to  him  should  be  given  a  very  large  measure  of 
power.  (14)  If  he  is  to  be  hampered  by  specific  mandates  of  the  board  (15) 
concerning  the  choice  and  assignment  of  teachers(16),   the  selection  of 

in  a  representative  form  of  government  is  to  rebel  against  it  and  court  defeat 
and  discomfiture.  We  must  not  do  anything  except  what  we  conscientiously 
believe  to  be  right.  But  it  is  our  duty  to  show  to  our  clients,  the  people,  the 
grounds  of  our  conviction  of  our  work. 

"The  efficient  superintendent,  therefore,  sets  into  working  order  three  educa- 
tive influences  to  support  the  one  great  work  of  education  in  the  school  system : 
namely,  an  educative  influence  in  wise  measures  and  correct  insight,  for  the 
members  of  the  school  board  ;  second,  an  educative  influence  resulting  in  insight 
into  methods  and  a  growth  in  personal  self-control,  and  besides  these,  a  culture 
in  literature,  in  art  and  in  science,  for  the  teachers ;  thirdly,  for  the  community, 
an  enlightened  public  opinion  which  knows  what  the  schools  are  actually  doing 
and  can  intelligently  explain  merits  and  defects  and  tell  what  changes  are  desired 
for  onward  progress." — William  T.  Harris,  in  Educational  Review,  Feb.,  1892. 

(14)  "The  department  of  instruction  should  be  headed  by  a  superintendent 
who  is  an  expert  in  pedagogical  science  and  in  administration.  He  should  have 
absolute  power  of  appointment,  assignment  to  position  and  removal  of  teachers, 
and  sufficient  assistance  to  have  full  and  constant  knowledge  of  what  is  being 
done  in  every  school  room  in  the  city.  Whether  the  law  provides  for  it  or  not, 
he  and  his  assistants  will  act  as  a  board.  This  board  will  not  be  a  body  dangerous 
to  the  liberties  of  a  free  people.  There  will  not  be  one  chance  of  their  doing 
injustice  to  a  teacher  to  a  hundred  chances  that  they  will  leave  undone  disagree- 
able things  which  should  be  done  in  the  interest  of;  better  teaching." — "The 
Crucial  Test,"  by  Andrew  L.  Draper. 

"The  danger  of  inconsiderate  or  improper  action  by  one  vested  by  such  power 
is  of  course  possible,  but  is  remote.  Regardless  of  the  legal  power  with  which 
he  may  be  vested,  he  is  in  fact  and  in  law  a  part  of  a  large  system.  He  must 
act  through  others  and  in  the  presence  of  multitudes.  There  is  great  publicity 
about  all  that  he  does.  When  a  single  officer  carries  such  responsibility  he  is 
at  the  focus  of  all  eyes.  There  are  the  strongest  incentives  to  right  action. 
Without  discovery,  at  least  by  many  persons,  he  cannot  act  wrongfully.  If  he 
is  required  to  act  under  and  pursuant  to  a  plan,  the  details  of  which  have  been 
announced,  and  of  which  we  will  speak  in  a  moment,  a  wrongful  act  will  be 
known  to  the  world,  and  he  must  bear  the  responsibility  for  it,  and  the  danger 
of  maladministration  is  almost  eliminated." — Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  105. 

(15)  "So  long  as  the  law  provides  that  the  board  of  education  shall  exercise 
the  powers  which  in  every  other  part  of  the  state  educational  work  are  vested 
in  a  superintendent  of  schools  elected  for  a  term  of  years,  the  efficiency  and  the 
effectiveness  of  the  administration  of  the  duties  of  the  superintendent's  office 
will  be  determined  entirely  by  the  sentiments  governing  the  majority  of  the 
board  of  education.  As  frequent  changes  occur  in  the  board  of  education  there 
will  be  varying  standards  of  influences  that  will  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
superintendent,  modifying  his  actions."—^.  G.  Lane,  Assistant  Superintendent 
Chicago  Public  Schools. 

(16)  "*  *  *  This  power  to  appoint,  to  discharge,  and  to  transfer  teachers 
involves  a  great  responsibility.  Under  ordinary  conditions  it  would  seem  to 
be  a  menace  to  the  stability  of  any  officer  and  even  of  the  office  itself.  But  the 
efficiency  and  success  of  the  whole  system  depend  upon  the  right  exercise  of 
this  power.  The  appointment  of  teachers  must  rest  somewhere,  and  the  responsi- 
bility should  be  definite.  The  power  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  super- 
intendent and  surrounded  with  such  safeguards  as  will  prevent  its  abuse  and 
protect  the  officer  who  exercises  it,  so  long  as  he  acts  justly,  wisely  and  accord- 

39 


text-books (17),  the  arranging  or  re-arranging  of  the  course  of  study(18), 
he  will  necessarily  fail  to  obtain  the  full  measure  of  success  otherwise  pos- 
sible, and  the  blame  should  fall  where  it  rarely  does,  namely,  on  the  board 

ing  to  rule.  The  aim  is  to  secure  the  very  best  teachers  available  and  to  place 
them  where  their  best  work  may  be  done.  If  appointments  are  made  by  the 
board  of  education  there  will  be  as  many  standards  as  there  are  members ;  and 
as  each  member  does  only  part  of  the  work,  he  cannot  take  into  account  the 
whole  field.  Moreover,  each  member  would  be  subject  to  personal  solicitation 
from  the  friends  of  anxious  candidates,  as  disagreeable  as  it  is  difficult  to  resist. 
The  superintendent  may  relieve  himself  from  this  dangerous  solicitation  by 
requiring  all  candidates  to  appear  before  the  board  of  examiners,  who  have  no 
voice  in  the  appointment,  and  take  rank  according  to  merit  before  there  is  any 
vacancy  to  fill — this  rank  including  both  scholarship  and  teaching  ability  and 
adaptability  for  certain  kinds  of  work.  From  this  list,  which  is  open  to  the 
inspection  of  the  board,  he  may  then  select  the  best  for  the  vacant  positions." 
— Albert  P.  Marble,  in  Educational  Review,  Sept.,  1894. 

"Where  teachers  are  appointed  by  school  boards  or  committees  or  members 
thereof,  or  by  ward  or  district  trustees,  its  accomplishment,  i.  e.,  the  securing 
of  a  force  of  capable  teachers,  is  impossible.  If  superintendents  are  only  allowed 
to  nominate,  and  nominations  are  to  be  confirmed  by  a  board  or  committee,  other 
elements  than  the  fitness  of  the  candidate  will  of  necessity  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration. If  a  superintendent  cannot  dismiss  teachers  or  change  them  about 
as  exigencies  require  and  experience  suggest  without  being  obliged  to  advise 
with  and  secure  the  approval  of  boards  or  members  who  are  looking  for  votes, 
or  who  are  anxious  to  please  friends  and  who  have  no  appreciation  of  the 
importance  and  delicacy  of  the  questions  involved,  he  will  not  do  it  at  all." — 
Andrew  S.  Draper,  in  Educational  Rcz^cic,  June,  1893. 

"In  December,  1895,  the  committee  on  retrenchment  and  reform  submitted 
in  its  report  the  recommendation  to  the  effect  that  with  the  superintendent  should 
rest  the  power  of  nominating  all  persons  for  the  educational  department,  which 
recommendation  was  unanimously  approved  by  the  board.  Now.  if  the  pro- 
visions of  this  recommendation  were  accepted  and  carried  out  in  good  faith  by 
the  several  members  of  the  board.  I  make  no  question  that  the  efficiency  of  the 
schools  would  in  the  near  future  be  greatly  enhanced  and  the  charges  of  ineffici- 
ency be  soon  withdrawn.  I  reiterate  my  solemn  conviction  that,  if  you  would 
have  better  equipped  and  more  thoroughly  trained  teachers,  and  of  course  better 
schools,  you  must  submit  the  question  of  teachers  and  their  general  direction 
to  the  superintendent  and  his  assistants,  and  hold  them  responsible  for  one 
thing — good  schools.  To  appoint  an  expert  executive  officer  and  then  withhold 
from  him  the  free  and  untrammeled  administration  of  his  official  function  is 
wholly  absurd  and  insensate." — D.  R.  Cameron,  President's  Report,  Chicago 
Board  of  Education,  1896. 

(I7)  "Essentially  the  same  thing  might  have  been  said  about  text-books,  in 
comparing  the  qualifications  of  superintendent  and  board,  and  a  consideration 
of  this  question  comes  within  the  scope  of  the  article  from  which  we  have 
quoted.  There  is  no  more  unnecessarily  vexing  question  to  be  considered  by  a 
board  of  education  than  this — unnecessarily  vexing,  because  if  relegated  to  the 
professional  province  of  the  superintendent  and  his  assistants  where  it  properly 
belongs,  the  board  would  be  required  to  pass  only  upon  the  advisability  of  a 
change  or  adoption  in  view  of  the  possible  expense  incident  thereto,  which,  in 
fairness,  we  must  admit,  is  all  that  it  is  qualified  to  do.  The  merit  of  a  par- 
ticular text-book  and  its  superiority  over  any  other  presented  for  its  consid 
eration.  the  educational  advantages  to  be  derived  by  its  adoption,  and  its  adapta- 
bility for  a  definite  purpose,  are  questions  which  only  an  expert  can  determine. 
and  if  left  to  him,  and  it  is  so  understood,  the  board  and  its  committee  will 
escape  untold  annoyance;  publishers  and  agents  will  find  their  business  greatly 

40 


of  education  itself.  His  relation  to  the  board,  therefore,  should  be  de- 
fined (19)  and  his  duties  and  powers  clearly  indicated  with  necessary  limi- 
tations.   As  long  as  he  possesses  the  confidence  of  the  board  and  is  retained 

simplified,  and  we  believe  elevated,  by  having  to  deal  with  professional  people; 
and,  what  is  of  greater  importance,  the  schools  will  be  better  served."— William 
S.  Mack,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1896,  p.  986. 

(18)  "This  supervisory  function  should  be  the  perfection  of  the  course  of 
study  and  the  selection  of  teaching  and  appliances,  as  well  as  the  improvement 
of  methods  of  instruction  and  discipline." — E.  E.  White,  in  American  School 
Board  Journal,  Feb.,  1S9S. 

"The  sober  common  sense  of  the  people  extending  over  a  considerable  period 
of  time  may  be  a  good  general  guide  to  what  should  be  taught  in  the  school,  since 
the  schools  must  be  kept  in  touch  with  the  people,  but  there  are  many  questions 
as  to  choice  of  particular  studies,  and  adjusting  the  studies  to  one  another  in 
the  course  that  the  people  can  never  settle.  The  order  in  which  the  several 
studies  shall  appear,  the  amount  of  work  that  shall  be  done  in  each  study,  and 
even  the  choice  of  studies  can  never  be  settled  by  a  plebiscite.  Nor  can  the 
average  board  of  education,  although  its  voice  should  be  regarded  as  expressing 
in  a  more  clarified  form  the  popular  mind  and  will,  settle  the  questions.  Espe- 
cially are  both  the  plebiscite  and  the  vote  of  the  board  utterly  hopeless  when 
parallel  courses  are  to  be  adjusted  in  high  schools.  The  course  of  program  of 
study  calls  for  expert  knowledge  and  experience,  and  this  need  the  superintend- 
ent must  meet.  Questions  relating  to  studies  promise  to  be  more  troublesome 
in  the  future  than  in  the  past ;  the  pressure  upon  the  course  of  study  is  all  the 
while  increasing ;  and  we  may  fairly  expect  therefore  that  the  superintendent 
will  be  more  prominent  in  settling  these  questions  than  he  has  been. 

"It  will  be  unprofitable  to  mince  words  about  this  all-important  matter.  If 
the  course  of  study  for  the  public  schools  of  a  great  city  is  to  be  determined 
by  laymen,  it  will  not  be  suited  to  the  needs  of  a  community.  If  teachers  are  to 
be  appointed  by  boards  or  committees,  the  members  of  which  are  particularly 
sensitive  to  the  desires  of  the  people  who  have  votes  or  influence,  looseness  of 
action  is  inevitable  and  unworthy  considerations  will  frequently  prevail.  If 
the  action  of  a  board  or  committee  be  conditioned  upon  the  recommendation  of 
a  superintendent,  the  plan  will  not  suffice.  No  one  person  is  stronger  than  the 
system  of  which  he  is  a  part.  Such  a  plan  results  in  contests  between  the  board 
and  superintendent,  and  such  a  contest  is  obviously  an  unequal  one.  There  is 
little  doubt  of  the  outcome.  In  recommending  for  the  appointment  of  teachers, 
the  personal  wishes  of  members  of  the  board  in  particular  cases  will  have  to 
be  acquiesced  in.  If  a  teacher,  no  matter  how  unfit,  cannot  be  dropped  from  the 
list  without  the  approval  of  a  board  or  committee  after  they  have  heard  from 
her  friends  and  sympathizers,  she  will  remain  indefinitely  in  the  service.  This 
means  a  low  tone  in  the  teaching  force  and  desolation  in  the  work  of  the 
schools.  If  the  superintendent  accepts  the  situation,  he  becomes  less  and  less 
capable  of  developing  a  professional  teaching  service.  If  he  refuses  to  accept  it, 
he  is  very  likely  to  meet  humiliation.  Dismissal  is  inevitable,  unless  he  is  strong 
enough  to  make  himself  secure  by  doing  the  right  thing  and  going  direct  to 
the  people  and  winning  their  approval.  The  superintendent  of  instruction  should 
be  charged  with  no  duty  save  the  supervision  of  the  instruction,  but  should  be 
charged  with  the  responsibility  of  making  that  professional  and  scientific,  and 
should  be  given  the  position  and  authority  to  accomplish  that  end."- — Committee 
of  Fifteen,  p.  106. 

(19)  <•*  *  *  The  Superintendent  and  the  School  Committee:  The  super- 
intendent is  an  employe  of  the  school  committee,  and  hence  in  some  sense  their 
servant;  but  he  is  employed  as  an  expert,  just  as  a  physician  is.  and  in  the  range 
of  work  in  which  he  is  so  employed  he  is  independent  of  dictation.  As  an 
agent  of  the  school  committee  he  does  many  things  merely  as  an  executive  officer, 


NIVERSITY 


as  superintendent,  he  should  be  left  unrestricted  and  untrammeled  in  his 
efforts  to  establish  and  administer  the  schools  along  the  lines  of  a  sound 
educational  policy. (20)      Accordingly  we  recommend: 

SECTION  i. — (a)  that  the  superintendent  of  schools  be  appointed 

AT  A  YEARLY  SALARY  NOT  TO  EXCEED  $10,000,  UNDER  A  CON- 
TRACT FOR  A  TERM  OF  SIX  YEARS  ;  PROVIDED,  THAT  HE  MAY  BE  REMOVED 
BEFORE  THE  EXPIRATION  OF  HIS  TERM  ONLY  FOR  CAUSE  ON  WRITTEN 
CHARGES,  BY  A  VOTE  OF  NOT  LESS  THAN  TWO-THIRDS  OF  THE  ENTIRE 
BOARD ; 

A  superintendent  of  schools  for  the  city  of  Chicago  possessing  the  quali- 
fications already  indicated  and  fulfilling  the  important  duties  hereafter 
assigned  to  him,  cannot  be  secured,  we  believe,  for  a  much  smaller  salary 
than  the  one  here  mentioned,  and  the  right  man  will  not  be  induced  to 

and  as  to  these  things,  he  is  a  man  under  authority.  As  an  expert,  employed 
because  he  knows  better  than  others  about  school  management  and  methods, 
and  especially  in  the  instruction  of  the  teachers  in  the  principles  and  methods 
of  teaching  and  of  discipline,  he  is  above  the  control  of  his  employers,  as  fully 
as  a  physician  is  in  the  treatment  of  an  invalid."— Horace  S.  Tarbcll,  in  Educa- 
tional Review,  Jan.,  1892. 

(20)  "An  examination  and  comparison  of  school  systems  will  confirm  the 
reasonableness  of  our  contention  that  the  established  laws  of  business  cannot 
be  violated  with  impunity  in  the  management  of  the  professional  details  of  our 
schools.  This  was  the  observation  of  Dr.  Rice  in  the  larger  cities,  as  shown  by 
the  Forum  articles  a  few  months  ago,  and  it  is  just  as  true  of  the  smaller  places. 
Wherever  the  esprit  de  corps  of  the  teaching  force  is  marked,  wherever  the  pro- 
fessional spirit  leavens  all  the  work,  wherever  the  best  methods  of  teaching  and 
of  government  find  their  application  and  fullest  expression,  wherever  there  is  a 
purposeful,  a  sympathetic  and  a  loyal  co-operation  of  all  the  educational  forces, 
there  you  are  quite  likely  to  find  a  trained  superintendent  with  conviction  and 
with  courage,  who  possesses  the  confidence  of  his  board  and  who  is  accorded  the 
right  of  final  judgment  with  attendant  responsibility,  in  all  matters  coming 
within  its  special  province.  Wherever  a  different  notion  of  the  board's  responsi- 
bility to  the  people  and  its  relation  to  the  superintendent  prevails,  wherever  a 
different  policy  governs,  there  are  almost  invariably  to  be  found  the  various 
evils  of  which  the  critics  of  our  public  school  system  justly  complain — favoritism 
and  politics  determining  the  appointment  of  teachers,  the  retention  of  poor  and 
mediocre  teachers,  who  possess  neither  sympathy  nor  professional  spirit,  lack 
of  adequate  appliances,  lack  of  organic  unity  in  plan  and  purpose,  and  much 
more  that  is  inevitable  in  the  absence  of  a  correlating  and  vivifying  principle." 
—William  S.  Mack,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1896.  p.  98-j. 

•'The  superintendent  should  be  a  statutory  officer  with  statutory  rights,  duties 
and  limitations.  He  should  be  allowed  to  choose  his  associates." — Nicholas  Mur- 
ray Butler,  on  "City  Schools." 

"Moreover,  we  must  consider  the  alternative.  It  is  not  in  doubt.  All  who 
have  any  contact  with  the  subject  are  familiar  with  it.  It  is  administration  by 
boards  or  committees,  the  members  of  which  are  not  competent  to  manage  pro- 
fessional matters  and  develop  an  expert  teaching  force.  Yet  they  assume,  and 
in  most  cases  honestly,  the  knowledge  of  the  most  experienced.  They  override 
and  degrade  a  superintendent,  when  they  have  the  power  to  do  so.  until  he 


undertake  this  work,  even  on  these  terms,  if  he  is  to  be  subject  to  yearly 
election  and  the  consequent  danger  that  his  exercise  of  the  powers  of  his 
office  may  lead  to  his  sudden  and  perhaps  ill-considered  retirement  before 
a  proper  test  of  his  usefulness  can  be  made.  (21)  Nevertheless,  as  there 
is  always  a  danger  that  a  board  of  education  may  fail  in  its  efforts  to  secure 
a  competent  executive,  it  has  seemed  wise  in  this  case,  as  in  that  of  the 
business  manager(22),  to  provide  for  his  removal  if  a  large  majority  of 
the  board  so  decrees. 

(b)    THAT    HE    HAVE   THE   GENERAL    CHARGE    AND    SUPERVISION    OF 
THE  TEACHERS  AND  TEACHING  IN   THE  PUBLIC   SCHOOLS; 

If  the  superintendent  is  to  be  responsible  for  the  educational  side  of 
the  school  system,  he  will  naturally  decide  all  questions  that  concern  the 
teachers  and  the  teaching  in  the  schools,  within  limitations  which  should 
be  fixed  by  the  state  law  in  general  and  by  the  rules  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion in  particular.  (23) 

becomes  their  mere  factotum.  For  the  sake  of  harmony  and  the  continuance  of 
his  position  he  concedes,  surrenders  and  acquiesces  to  their  acts,  while  the  con- 
tinually increasing  teaching  force  becomes  weaker  and  the  work  poorer  and 
poorer.  If  he  refuses  to  do  this,  they  precipitate  an  open  rupture  and  turn  him 
out  of  his  position.  Then  they  cloud  the  issue  and  shift  the  responsibility  from 
one  to  the  other.  There  are  exceptions,  of  course,  but  they  do  not  change  the 
rule." — Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  105. 

(2'1)  "Experience  always  shows  that  the  pedagogic  function  should  be  com- 
mitted to  a  superintendent  of  schools ;  and  his  duties  should  be  defined  by  state 
law,  and  his  tenure  of  office  should  be  made  sufficiently  long  and  secure  to  afford 
him  needed  freedom  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties." — E.  E.  White,  in  American 
School  Board  Journal,  Feb.,  1898. 

"The  term  of  the  superintendent  of  instruction  should  be  from  five  to  ten 
years,  and  until  a  successor  is  appointed.  In  our  judgment  it  should  be  deter- 
minate so  that  there  may  be  a  time  of  public  examination,  but  it  should  be 
sufficiently  long  to  enable  one  to  lay  foundations  and  show  results  without  being 
carried  under  by  the  prejudices  which  always  follow  the  first  operation  of  efficient 
or  drastic  plans.  The  salary  should  be  fixed  by  law  and  not  changed  in  the 
middle  of  a  term  except  by  law." — Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  107. 

(22)  See  Article  I,  Section  1. 

(23)  "The  superintendent  should  be  the  court  of  last  resort  to  settle  different 
opinions  regarding  promotion  of  pupils,  and  differences  of  opinion  between  prin- 
cipals and  teachers,  to  determine  all  disputes  regarding  interpretation  of  the 
course  of  study,  and  to  decide  in  all  cases  when  difficulties  arise  regarding  admis- 
sion of  pupils  to  schools  or  the  transfer  of  pupils  from  one  school  to  another." 
— W.  H.  Maxwell,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1894,  p.  316. 

"I  like  especially  the  idea  of  giving  to  the  superintendent  authority  in  many 
matters,  which  is  final  unless  it  is  negatived  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  board  of  education.  This  is  substantially  the  plan  which  has  been 
adopted  in  Columbia  University  for  giving  to  the  educators  the  initiative  in  all 
educational  matters,  the  trustees  simply  reserving  to  themselves  the  right  of 
vetoing  in  case  of  need.  It  is  much  better  than  to  demand  of  the  educators  that 
they  shall  positively  convince  a  body  of  laymen  of  the  propriety  of  any  step 
before  it  can  be  taken.     I  am  confident  that  it  will  work  as  well  in  a  public  school 

43 


(c)  THAT  HE  HAVE,  AFTER  CONSULT  ALTON  WITH  THE  ASSISTANT 
SUPERINTENDENTS,  THE  SUPERVISORS  AND  THE  PRINCIPALS,  THE  DETER- 
MINATION  OF  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY,  THE  CHOICE  OF  TEXT  BOOKS 
AND  APPARATUS  USED  IN  TEACHING  IN  THE  SCHOOLS,  WITHIN  THE 
APPROPRIATION  OF  THE  BOARD,  AND  SUBJECT  TO  DISAPPROVAL  BY  A 
MAJORITY  VOTE  OF  ALL  THE  MEMBERS  THEREOF  NOT  LATER  THAN 
THE   SECOND   MEETING  AFTER   THE   REPORT   IS   MADE   THERETO; 

The  experience  and  opinion  of  educational  experts  are  practically 
unanimous  in  assigning  to  the  superintendent  the  arrangement  of  the 
course  of  study  (24),  indicated  in  general  outline  by  the  rules  of  the  board 
of  education  and  by  its  appropriation  for  salaries  and  equipment.  What 
should  be  taught  in  the  public  schools  is  a  matter  for  the  people  themselves 
and  for  their  chosen  representatives  in  the  board  of  education  to  determine. 
How  the  subjects  should  be  arranged  in  the  course  of  study,  in  what  order 
and  in  what  proportion  instruction  should  be  given  in  each,  what  methods 
should  be  employed,  and  what  text-books (25)    and  apparatus  should  be 

system  as  it  has  worked  with  us,  and  that  it  will  do  much  to  further  the  educa- 
tional interests  of  any  city  that  will  adopt  it."— Seth  Low,  President  Columbia 
University. 

"I  note  with  special  pleasure  the  freedom  given  to  the  superintendent  to  carry 
out  his  ideas  of  an  educational  system  and  the  effort  to  give  him  both  power 
and  responsibility.  The  school  system  should  not  be  a  mere  automatic  machine. 
It  should  have  some  color  and  character.  It  should  offer  opportunity  for  a 
great  teacher  to  work  out  a  great  idea.  If  the  school  system  does  not  offer  play 
for  ability  in  this  line,  it  will  not  secure  the  services  of  able  men.  A  part  of  the 
freedom  of  an  able  superintendent  will  extend  to  the  principals  under  his  direc- 
tion, for  one  of  the  most  important  qualities  of  a  good  superintendent  is  the 
ability  to  recognize  originality  in  others." — David  Starr  Jordan,  President  Lcland 
Stanford  University. 

(24)  "The  course  of  study  and  the  text-books  belong  to  the  educational  fea- 
ture of  the  schools,  and  this  should  be  in  the  hands  of  experts.  The  experts  are 
the  superintendent  and  his  assistants  and  the  principals.  These  with  such 
counsel  and  advice  as  they  may  seek  from  the  teachers,  should  fix  the  course 
of  study  and  decide  what  text-books  are  best,  in  following  that  course.  _  On 
these  questions  the  superintendent  should  have  the  veto  power,  and  the  decision 
of  these  experts  should  be  approved  by  the  board.  If  the  board  do  not  approve, 
they  should  not  have  the  power  to  substitute;  such  a  course  would  confuse 
the  general  result.  The  experts  must  try  another  recommendation  in  that 
case."— Albert  P.  Marble,  in  Educational  Review,  Jan.,  1894. 

(25)  "Every  argument  that  can  be  adduced  showing  that  the  superintendent, 
guided  by  the  popular  intelligence  and  advised  by  his  board  and  corps  of  teachers, 
should  make  the  course  of  study,  tends  with  equal  force  to  show  that,  with  the 
same  limitations  he  should  also  choose  the  text-books;  and  with  even  greater 
force,  because  the  text-books  arc  the  course  of  study  in  a  very  much  more  definite 
and  practical  sense  than  the  course  so-called.  The  course  is  but  a  vague  outline ; 
the  text-books  are  minute  and  definite."— B.  A.  Hinsdale,  in  Educational 
Review,  Jan.,   1894. 

44 


procured  for  the  schools  within  the  necessary  limitations  of  expense,  are 
questions  which  should  be  determined  by  the  officers  of  supervision,  and 
should  come  before  the  board  only  on  their  initiative  and  recommendation. 

(d)  THAT  HE  APPOINT  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENTS,  SUPERVISORS, 
TEACHERS,  AND  ATTENDANCE  OFFICERS  TO  SUCH  POSITIONS  AS  THE 
BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  SHALL  FROM  TIME  TO  TIME  AUTHORIZE,  PROMOTE 
OR  REDUCE  TEACHERS  AND  FIX  THEIR  SALARIES  UNDER  THE 
SCHEDULE  PROVIDED,  AND  DISMISS  UNDER  THE  RULES  ANY  APPOINTEES 
NAMED  IN  THIS  SECTION  J  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT  ALL  SUCH 
APPOINTMENTS,  PROMOTIONS,  COMPENSATIONS,  AND  DISMISSALS  BE 
REPORTED  TO  THE  BOARD,  AND  SHALL  STAND  AS  FINAL,  UNLESS  DISAP- 
PROVED BY  A  MAJORITY  VOTE  OF  ALL  THE  MEMBERS  THEREOF  NOT 
LATER  THAN  THE  SECOND  MEETING  AFTER  THE  REPORT  IS  MADE  THERE- 
TO ;  PROVIDED,  FURTHER,  THAT  NONE  OF  THESE  APPOINTMENTS  BE  MADE 
AND  NO  TEACHER  BE  PROMOTED  UNTIL  AFTER  EXAMINATION  AND 
xVPPROVAL   BY   AN   EXAMINING   BOARD   HEREINAFTER   PROVIDED   FOR; 

On  this  point,  again,  those  most  competent  to  decide  by  reason  of  their 
long  connection  with  educational  systems,  either  as  members  (26)  of  a  board 

(26)  '"Especially  should  the  educational  department  be  left  free  from  non- 
professional interference  and  restriction,  and  the  legal  power  of  appointment 
and  removal  of  teachers,  in  the  largest  measure  consonant  with  the  right  of 
review  by  the  board,  be  cheerfully  committed  to  the  superintendent  of  schools 
and  his  assistants.  It  scarcely  needs  an  argument  to  convince  any  member  of 
this  board  that  these  executive  officers,  by  virtue  of  their  outlook  over  the  educa- 
tional field,  their  knowledge  of  school  affairs  at  home  and  abroad,  their  acquaint- 
ance with  the  trend  and  scope  of  educational  thought,  their  familiar  association 
with  questions  pertaining  to  school  management  and  discipline,  their  experience 
with  school  life,  their  trained  judgments  as  to  professional  merits  in  teaching, 
and  their  professional  pride,  all  unite  to  justify  the  commission  to  their  hands, 
unrestricted  by  individual  members  of  the  board,  or  by  non-professional  parties, 
the  selection,  appointment,  assignment  and  transfer  of  teachers,  the  removal  of 
incompetents  and  the  promotion  of  teachers  to  fill  vacancies  occurring  in  the 
more  important  positions.  Else  why  engage  such  a  staff  of  officers?  In  fact, 
there  is  no  justification  for  the  appointment  of  a  superintendent  and  assistants 
except  upon  the  knowledge  that  to  others  more  competent  than  the  board  or  its 
membership  must  be  committed  the  administration  of  the  interests  that  are 
purely  educational." — D.  R.  Cameron,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, 1896. 

"For  I  maintain  this  to  be  true,  that  no  board  of  education,  however  wise  and 
prudent,  however  jealous  and  zealous  for  the  good  name  of  its  schools,  can  in  the 
nature  of  things  hope  to  act  for  the  highest  efficiency  of  the  schools  upon  their 
own  motion ;  especially  in  the  matter  of  the  selection  of  teachers.  The  principle 
of  favoritism,  whether  political  or  otherwise,  should  never  be  permitted  to  enter 
as  a  factor  in  a  matter  of  such  extreme  importance.  Merit  and  merit  alone  should 
govern  in  the  choice  of  these  men  and  women  to  whom  are  committed  the  nearest 
and  dearest  interests  of  society.  Not  the  school  for  a  would-be  teacher,  but  the 
teacher  for  the  school.  Schools  are  not  to  be  selected  for  the  teachers,  but  the 
teachers  for  the  schools.  This  great  trust  I  am  compelled  to  believe  should  be 
committed  to  the  superintendent  and  his  associates,  for  by  education,  by  training. 


of  education,  superintendents  of  instruction  (27),  or  teachers  in  the 
schools  (28),  are  largely  agreed.  If  the  superintendent  is  to  be  actually- 
responsible  for  the  municipal  system  of  instruction,  he  must  be  given  the 
selection,  appointment,  promotion  and  removal  of  his  subordinates  (29),  not 

by  experience,  by  their  touch  with  educational  affairs  throughout  the  land,  and 
by  their  sense  of  responsibility  to  the  board  of  education,  which  reserves  to  itself 
the  right  of  final  judgment  in  all  matters,  they  are  the  best  equipped  for  this 
great  auty.  We  may  not  hope  to  witness  desired  success  on  the  educational  side 
of  our\chool  system  till  the  superintendent's  office  is  clothed  with  the  power  of 
choice  knd  direction." — D.  R.  Cameron,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of 
Education,  1895. 

(27)  'VSecond,  I  recommend  that  all  assignments  and  transfers  shall  be  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  superintendent  and  his  assistants.  No  permanent  assignment, 
however,  shall  be  made  to  any  school  until  the  teacher  has  demonstrated  her 
ability  to  succeed  and  the  district  superintendent  and  the  principal  of  the  school 
have  reported  favorably  upon  her  work.  No  teacher  shall  be  appointed  to  any 
position  without  the  proper  certificate  for  such  position,  nor  shall  any  teacher  be 
advanced  to  any  position  higher  than  that  for  which  she  has  been  examined  and 
for  which  she  holds  a  certificate." — A.  G.  Lane,  Superintendent,  Chicago  Public 
Schools,  1898. 

"I  should  say  that  the  one  essential  element  in  the  building  up  of  a  school 
system  is  the  selection  of  one  competent  and  thoroughly  trained  superintendent, 
in  whose  hands  solely  should  be  left  the  appointment  of  his  teachers,  being  him- 
self held  strictly  responsible  for  the  results  of  his  decisions." — David  Starr  Jor- 
dan, President,  Leland  Stanford  University. 

(28)  "We  recommend  that  the  appointment,  transfer  of  all  teachers  and  prin- 
cipals be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  board  of  superintendents,  for  the  following 
reasons :  (a)  The  superintendents  and  principals  are  the  best  qualified  to  judge 
of  the  merits  of  the  teachers,  because  they  are  in  a  position  where  they  can  see 
the  work  of  the  teachers  as  no  one  else  can.  Others  may  know  the  teachers  as 
men  or  women,  but  know  little  or  nothing  of  them  as  teachers,  (bj  It  would 
relieve  the  members  of  the  board  of  education  of  an  annoyance  which  now  must 
be  almost  intolerable,  (c)  It  would  lead  those  aspiring  to  become  teachers  to 
greater  exertions  in  their  preparation  since  their  permanent  employment  would 
depend  entirely  on  their  success  as  teachers,  and  their  fitness  for  the  work, 
(d)  It  would  place  the  responsibility  for  the  instruction  and  management  of  our 
schools  upon  the  superintendent,  where  it  rightfully  belongs."— The  George 
Rowland  Club,  Chicago. 

"Voted,  that  we  recommend  that  the  appointment  of  teachers  be  exclusively 
in  the  hands  of  the  superintendents ;  and  that  before  a  teacher  is  permanently 
elected  to  a  position  in  a  high  school  he  be  required  to  serve  eight  months  on 
probation,  at  the  close  of  which  period  the  principal  shall  report  to  the  superin- 
tendent on  the  efficiency  of  such  teacher."— Proceedings  of  Meeting,  Chicago 
High  School  Principals,  March  2,  1898. 

(29)  "It  is  plain,  that  while  in  constant  correspondence  with  the  school  author- 
ities he  should  have  a  controlling  voice  in  the  selection  of  his  teachers.  If 
the  superintendent  be  a  man  of  good  common  sense,  of  a  thorough  acquaintance 

46 


merely  because  he  is  responsible  for  their  ability  and  faithfulness,  but  also 
because  he  should  be  the  person  most  competent  in  the  last  resort  to  decide 
these  matters.  (30)  In  fulfilling  these  functions  he  is  naturally  restricted, 
first  by  the  provision  that  renders  him  subject  to  overruling  by  the  members 
of  the  board,  and,  second,  by  the  requirement  that  in  his  choice  and  assign- 
ment of  a  teacher  or  principal  to  any  particular  position,  he  should  at  least 
consult  the  immediate  superior.  In  addition,  it  is  the  opinion  of  your  com- 
mission that  since  the  compulsory  school  attendance  law  is  closely  related 
with  other  matters  of  school  management,  the  enforcement  of  this  law 
should  be  placed  by  the  board  directly  in  the  hands  of  the  superintend- 
ent^31) 

with  the  work  he  undertakes,  and  of  high  integrity — and  no  other  should  ever 
be  brought  into  such  a  work — he  is  fit  to  act  untrammeled." — /.  L.  Pickard,  in 
Education,"  September,  1893. 

(30)  "We  now  come  to  the  subject  of  paramount  importance  in  making  a 
plan  for  the  school  government  in  a  great  city,  namely,  the  character  of  the 
teaching  force  and  the  quality  of  the  instruction.  A  city  school  system  may 
be  able  to  stand  some  abuses  on  the  business  side  of  its  administration  and 
continue  to  perform  its  functions  with  measurable  success,  but  wrongs  against 
the  instruction  must,  in  a  little  time,  prove  fatal.  The  strongest  language  is 
none  too  strong  here.  The  safety  of  the  republic,  the  security  of  American  citizen- 
ship, are  at  stake.  Government  by  the  people  has  no  more  dangerous  pitfall  in 
its  road  than  this,  that  in  the  mighty  cities  of  the  land  the  comfortable  and  intel- 
ligent masses,  who  are  discriminating  more  and  more  closely  about  the  education 
of  their  children  shall  become  dissatisfied  with  the  social  status  of  the  teachers 
and  the  quality  of  teaching  in  the  common  schools.  In  that  event,  they  will 
educate  their  children  at  their  own  expense,  and  the  public  schools  will  become 
only  good  enough  for  the  use  of  those  who  can  afford  no  better.  The  only 
way  to  avert  this,  is  by  maintaining  the  instruction  upon  a  purely  scientific  and 
professional  footing.  This  is  entirely  practicable,  but  it  involves  much  more  care 
and  expense  in  training  teachers,  the  absolute  elimination  of  favoritism  from 
appointments,  the  security  of  the  right  to  advancement  after  appointment,  on 
the  basis  of  merit,  and  a  general  leadership  which  is  kindly,  healthful  and  stimu- 
lating to  individuals,  who  can  secure  harmonious  co-operation  from  all  the  mem- 
bers and  which  lends  energy  and  inspiration  to  the  whole  body.  This  cannot 
be  secured  if  there  is  any  lack  of  authority,  and  experience  amply  proves  that  it 
will  not  be  secured  if  there  is  any  division  of  responsibility.  The  whole  matter 
of  instruction  must  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  superintendent  of  instruction  with 
independent  powers  and  adequate  authority,  who  is  charged  with  full  responsi- 
bility. 

"For  reasons  already  suggested,  the  superintendent  once  appointed,  shall 
have  power  to  appoint  from  an  eligible  list  all  assistants  and  teachers  authorized 
by  the  board  and  unlimited  authority  to  assign  them  to  their  respective  positions 
and  reassign  or  remove  them  from  the  force  at  his  discretion." — Committee  of 
Fifteen,  p.  104. 

(31)  "if  the  superintendent  be  clothed  with  these  powers,  it  follows  that 
he  is  the  officer  who  should  be  charged  with  the  direction  of  all  the  means 
employed  to  enforce  compulsory  laws." — W.  H.  Maxwell,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings, 
1894,  P-  3i6. 


(e)  THAT  UPON  THE  APPLICATION  OF  ANY  PERSON  FOR  A  CERTIFI- 
CATE AS  A  TEACHER,  AFTER  THE  EXAMINATION  AND  APPROVAL  OF  SAID 
APPLICANT  BY  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD,  HE  ISSUE  TO  THE  APPLICANT 
A  PROVISIONAL  CERTIFICATE  OF  QUALIFICATION  FOR  TWO  YEARS, 
WHICH,  AFTER  PROOF  OF  SUCCESS  FOR  THIS  PERIOD,  SHALL  BE  MADE 
PERMANENT  FOR  CONTINUOUS  SERVICE  WITHOUT  FURTHER  EXAMINA- 
TION ; 

Your  commission  believes  that  the  examination  of  teachers  should  not 
be  intrusted  to  the  superintendent  alone,  although  this  is  a  widely  preva- 
lent method. (32)  Applicants  for  a  position  in  the  teaching  force  of  the 
city,  when  approved  by  the  examining  board,  should,  however,  be  granted  a 
certificate  of  qualification  by  the  superintendent.  This  certificate  should 
not  be  made  permanently  valid  at  first,  but  should  carry'  with  it  only  the 
qualification  to  teach  for  a  term  of  two  years  after  appointment^33)  After 
this  test,  on  proof  of  the  teacher's  success,  it  may  well  be  made  permanent 
for  continuous  service  without  further  examination.  (u) 

(f)  THAT  HE  HAVE  A  SEAT  AND  THE  PRIVILEGES  OF  THE  FLOOR  IN 
THE  BOARD,   BUT   NO  VOTE. 

Many  difficulties  between  a  superintendent  and  a  board  of  education 
have  arisen  from  a  lack  of  close  connection  and  sympathy  between  the 
two.  If  the  superintendent  is  to  be  in  a  real  sense  the  educational  adviser 
of  the  board,  he  should  be  given  the  privilege  here  indicated  and  be  allowed 
during  the  meetings  of  the  board  to  participate  freely  in  the  discussions, 
and  at  any  time  to  make  suggestions  and  explanations.  He  is  not  to  be 
considered  a  mere  employe,  but  rather  a  worthy  and  honored  co-worker 
with  the  board,  and  as  such  should  be  treated  on  equal  terms.  Due  tribute 
to  his  important  position  will  reflect  like  dignity  on  the  board  itself.(35) 

(32)  See  Examining  Board,  Article  IV,  Section  5. 

(33)  "We  recommend  that  no  one  should  be  permanently  appointed  as  teacher 
or  principal,  who  has  not  shown  by  at  least  two  years'  successful  experience  that 
he  or  she  is  qualified  for  the  position."— The  George  Howland  Club. 

(34)  The  phrase  '-continuous  service"  should  not  be  so  construed  as  to  prevent 
the  re-employment  of  a  teacher  after  temporary  and  authorized  absence  from 
duty,  even  if  the  absence  be  for  the  whole  or  for  the  greater  part  of  a  year. 

(35)  "He  shall  have  a  seat  in  the  board  of  education  and  the  right  to  speak 
on  all  matters  before  the  board,  but  not  to  vote."— Charter  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  Section  1,079. 


48 


SECTION  2. —  (a)   that  the  assistant  superintendents  be  put  in 

CHARGE  OF  NOT  MORE  THAN  TWENTY-FIVE  SCHOOLS  EACH,  AND  THAT 
THE  PRESENT  NUMBER  OF  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENTS  BE  INCREASED 
TO   MEET  THIS  PROPORTION  ; 

The  work  of  the  superintendent,  as  here  outlined,  is  first  of  all  the 
educational  administration  of  the  schools.  To  accomplish  this  adequately, 
he  requires  the  services  of  assistants  liberally  educated  and  of  wide  ex- 
perience, in  whose  hands  he  can  place  with  full  confidence  the  details  of 
supervision.  These  assistants  must  not  only  command  the  respect  of  the 
teaching  force  and  the  general  public,  but  must  be  in  entire  sympathy  with 
the  general  policy  of  the  superintendent  himself.  For  their  work,  the  lat- 
ter is  responsible,  and  we  believe,  therefore,  that  he  only  should  make  these 
appointments. 

If  the  assistant  is  to  fulfill  his  duties  properly,  he  should  not  have  charge 
of  as  large  a  district  as  at  present.  Seven  or  eight  assistants  cannot  effi- 
ciently supervise  the  instruction  of  five  thousand  teachers  and  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  million  pupils.  The  force  of  superintendents  should,  there- 
fore, be  increased  until  not  more  than  twenty-five  schools  need  be  assigned 
to  any  one  assistant  superintendent^36) 

(b)  THAT  THE  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENTS  SEVERALLY  REPRESENT 
THE  SUPERINTENDENT  IN  THE  SCHOOLS  WHICH  MAY  BE  PLACED 
UNDER  THEIR  CHARGE,  AND  BE  GIVEN  DEFINED  RIGHTS  OF  CONSULTA- 
TION IN  REGARD  TO  THE  APPOINTMENT,  THE  PROMOTION  AND  THE  DIS- 
MISSAL OF  TEACHERS  IN  THEIR  SCHOOLS  J 

The  function  of  the  assistant  superintendents  is  to  represent,  each  in 
his  own  district,  the  superintendent.  They  derive  their  authority  from 
him,  and  their  relation  both  to  him  and  the  teachers  should  be  largely  ad- 
visory, with  such  duties  and  powers  as  the  superintendent  may  see  fit  to 
delegate  to  them.  It  seems  clear  that  they  have  not  hitherto  been  able  to 
enter  into  sufficiently  close  relations  with  the  principals  and  teachers,  a 
fact  which  has  given  rise  to  much  criticism  of  the  supervising  force,  that 

(36)  "I  would  reduce  that  to  twenty,  in  order  that  he  may  make  his  personal 
influence  felt  more  strongly  than  he  will  be  able  to  do  if  he  must  care  for  twenty- 
five.  However,  it  occurs  to  me  that  an  assistant  superintendent  should  have 
charge  of  a  certain  number  of  teachers  rather  than  a  certain  number  of  schools. 
There  ought  to  be  an  assistant  superintendent  for  every  one  hundred  teachers, 
to  get  the  best  results  out  of  the  system.  That  undoubtedly  would  be  too  expen- 
sive, but  I  should  rather  base  the  assistants  upon  the  number  of  teachers  than 
upon  the  number  of  schools." — Henry  Sabin,  Ex-State  Superintendent  of  Schools, 
Des  Moines,  la. 

49 


otherwise  would  not  be  well  founded.  An  increase  in  the  number  of 
assistant  superintendents  would  enable  each  one  to  have  an  intimate  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  the  principals  of  his  district,  and,  by  co-operation  with 
these  (37),  exercise  a  far  deeper  influence  on  the  school  system  than  at 
present.  In  order  to  increase  his  efficiency  in  this  direction,  each  assistant 
should  be  relieved  of  much  of  the  routine  work  now  required  of  him  ;  it 
may  be  advisable,  moreover,  to  establish  for  each  assistant  superintendent 
an  office  in  some  school  as  nearly  as  feasible  in  the  center  of  his  district. 

(c)  THAT  ONE  ASSISTANT  SERVE,  WHEN  CHOSEN  FOR  THIS  PURPOSE 
BY  THE  SUPERINTENDENT,  WITH  OTHER  PERSONS  HEREINAFTER  DESIG- 
NATED,  ON   THE   EXAMINING   E0ARD. 

The  underlying  principle  of  the  examining  board  is  that  of  differen- 
tiating the  functions  of  examination  and  appointment.  If  an  equal  num- 
ber of  assistant  superintendents  were  appointed  as  of  outsiders,  the  action 
of  the  board  would  be  controlled  by  those  on  whom  the  choice  of  teach- 
ers will  practically  fall ;  but  the  presence  of  one  assistant  superintendent 
is  essential  to  keep  the  Examining  Board  in  touch  with  the  schools  and  to 
afford  the  superintendent  the  opportunity  to  obtain  through  a  representa- 
tive some  knowledge  of  candidates,  aside  from  that  based  on  the  formal 
examination. 

SECTION  3. — THAT  THE  SUPERVISORS  OF  SPECIAL  SUBJECTS  HAVE  THE 
GENERAL  CHARGE  OF  THEIR  SEVERAL  SUBJECTS  IN  THE  NORMAL,  THE 
HIGH  AND  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  AND  THAT  AN  ASSISTANT  SUPER- 
VISOR IN  EACH  SUBJECT  BE  APPOINTED  IF  NECESSARY,  IN  EACH  DISTRICT 
OR   CLOSELY   CONNECTED   GROUP  OF  DISTRICTS. 

The  methods  of  supervision  of  special  subjects  in  the  course  of  study 
will  be  considered  more  fully  in  a  later  article.  Your  commission  would 
call  attention  here  only  to  the  lack  of  success  due  to  friction  and  ineffi- 
ciency (38)   in  the  plan  now  followed  of  assigning  a  different  supervisor 

(37)  "These  assistants  should  deal  more  directly  with  the  principals,  and 
delegate  to  them  certain  duties  and  powers  that  they  now  attempt  to  perform. 
Let  the  teacher  be  responsible  for  his  room,  the  principal  for  his  school,  the 
assistant  superintendent  for  his  district,  the  superintendent  for  all  districts  and 
the  board  of  education  for  the  superintendent,  and  through  him  for  the  efficiency 
of  the  entire  system." — A  Chicago  Principal. 

(38)  "We  believe  that  the  best  interests  of  the  schools  demand  that  music 
and  drawing  be  placed  under  one  supervisor  for  each  subject  in  all  grades  of  the 
public  schools."— The  George  Howland  Club. 

50 


for  a  particular  subject  in  each  of  the  three  main  divisions  of  the  school 
course,  i.  e.,  one  in  the  high  school,  and  one  each  in  the  primary  and  the 
grammar  divisions  of  the  elementary  schools.  (39)  Although  it  may  be 
well  to  modify  methods  in  different  grades,  there  should  be  at  least  suf- 
ficient continuity  to  develop  one  underlying  principle  of  instruction  in 
any  subject — drawing  or  music,  for  example.  Symmetry  and  cohesion  in 
the  instruction  of  any  branch  can  be  secured,  we  believe,  only  by  the  as- 
signment of  one  supervisor,  to  be  fully  responsible  for  all  work  in  his 
subject  throughout  the  system.  This  plan  would  have  the  further  advan- 
tage of  reducing  to  a  considerable  extent  the  number  of  assistants  needed, 
and  of  decreasing  the  expense  of  supervision. 

SECTION  4.   (i). THAT  THE  PRINCIPAL  BE  GIVEN  BY  THE  BOARD  DEFINED 

PRIVILEGES   OF   CONSULTATION  : 

In  considering  the  duties  of  the  principal,  your  commission  has  been 
deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  this  office(40)  and  of  the  desira- 
bility of  securing  for  it  the  ablest  men  and  women  possible.  The  responsi- 
bility (41)  of  the  principal  has  not  been  sufficiently  recognized  hitherto,  and 

(39)  "I  am  heartily  in  favor  of  continuing  and  strengthening  the  work  now 
done  in  music,  drawing,  physical  culture,  Latin  and  German.  In  the  work  in 
music,  I  believe  that  more  systematic,  well-balanced  work  would  be  secured  if 
all  the  music  from  the  kindergarten  to  and  through  the  high  school  were  placed 
under  the  supervision  of  one  person  instead  of  three  as  at  present." — A  Chicago 
Principal. 

"No  person  shall  be  eligible  for  election  as  supervisor  of  a  special  branch,  as 
music,  drawing,  kindergarten,  etc.,  who  is  not  (a)  a  graduate  of  a  high  school 
or  of  an  institution  of  an  equal  or  higher  scholastic  rank;  and  (b)  a  graduate 
from  a  course  of  professional  training  of  at  least  one  year  in  the  special  branch 
that  he  is  to  supervise  or  teach;  and  (c)  a  teacher  of  that  special  branch  of  at 
least  three  years'  successful  experience." — Charter  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
Section  1,115. 

(40)  "The  principal  of  a  school  holds  an  important  position.  Upon  him  are 
placed  responsibilities  which  must  be  fully  measured  and  justly  and  faithfully  dis- 
charged. He  should  be  an  expert  in  the  practical  management  of  all  the  details 
of  school  life.  He  should  be  abreast  of  all  that  is  best  in  education,  a  careful 
student,  a  thorough  analyzer  of  men  and  things  and  processes.  He  should  have 
clear  tact  and  great  discretion ;  should  be  self-contained  and  ready  for  all  emer- 
gencies at  all  times." — "The  School  Principal,"  Editorial  in  American  School 
Board  Journal,  May,  1898. 

(4't)  "The  principal  should  be  held  to  a  strict  responsibility,  within  certain 
well  defined  lines,  for  the  administration  of  the  school  or  schools  under  his  direc- 
tion. He  has  duties  to  perform  toward  his  pupils  and  those  in  parental  relation 
to  them,  subordinate  teachers,  and  toward  his  immediate  official  superior,  the 
superintendent.     He  should,  in  the  first  place,  be  an  expert  in  school  sanitation. 

5i 


the  majority  of  principals  have  not  exercised  the  intimate,  controlling  in- 
fluence over  their  schools  that  might  fairly  be  expected  of  those  in  imme- 
diate charge.  While  recognizing  that  Chicago  is  fortunate  in  having  many 
principals  who  unite  scholarship  with  experience  and  enthusiasm  with 
executive  ability,  we  still  believe  that  the  school  system  may  be  greatly 
strengthened  in  this  particular.  (42)  The  present  difficulties  may  not  fairly 
be  attributed  to  the  principals  themselves.  When  promotion  to  this  of- 
fice is  made  for  any  reason  except  for  proved  efficiency — a  deplorable 
course,  which,  we  believe,  has  been  followed  more  than  once  in  the  history 
of  the  city — when  the  position  itself  is  made  less  desirable  by  curtailing 
its  natural  privileges  and  responsibilities,  when  changes  in  assignment  from 
one  school  to  another  do  not  depend  solely  on  merit,  and  when,  further- 
more, it  is  not  clearly  understood  that  failure  to  discharge  these  duties 
properly  will  be  followed  by  prompt  dismissal  or  transferment  to  a  less 

It  may  not  be  well  to  place  in  the  hand  of  a  principal  the  power  to  spend  money, 
to  make  repairs  and  alterations  in  the  school  building,  but  he  should  know  when 
the  condition  of  the  building  is  not  right,  and  should  make  life  a  burden  to  those 
who  have  the  power  until  defects  are  remedied.  He  should  have  a  keen  eye 
to  discover  physical  weaknesses  in  children,  such  as  myopia,  or  astigmatism  of 
the  eyes,  or  nervous  disorders,  and  should  be  skilled  to  take  measures  of  preven- 
tion, if  not  cure.  Equally  keen  should  be  his  discernment  of  intellectual  and 
moral  defects,  such  as  a  poor  memory,  lack  of  constructive  ability,  lying,  dis- 
honesty, and  the  like.  In  all  such  cases  it  is  his  duty  to  devise,  if  possible,  a 
course  of  educational  treatment  to  cure  the  disease." — W.  H.  Maxwell,  Superin- 
tendent, New  York  Public  Schools. 

(42)  "I  consider  the  greatest  hindrance  to  our  progress  to  be  the  poor  aver- 
age education,  not  of  the  teachers,  but  of  the  principals.  It  is  humiliating  and 
astonishing  how  few  have  ever  been  students  in  a  college  or  university,  and 
what  a  large  proportion  are  of  those  who  have  had  no  more  education  than  the 
teachers  under  them,  except  that  by  the  persistent  reading  of  books  in  'cramming 
for  examinations'  they  have  managed  to  'break  through'  an  examination  and 
get  a  small  primary  school  which,  as  population  increases,  becomes  a  large  gram- 
mar school,  and  a  person  who  has  spent  his  years  and  money  in  college  or  uni- 
versity training  has  no  advantage  in  our  system  over  such.  The  result  is  that 
there  is  little  inducement  for  our  first-class  young  men  to  enter  our  ranks,  and 
our  schools  suffer.  My  suggestion  is,  that  the  grade  of  scholarship  of  our  prin- 
cipals be  raised;  that  no  one  be  given  charge  of  a  grammar  school  who  is  not 
college  or  university  educated."—^  Chicago  Principal. 

"The  assignment  of  teachers  to  classes  should  be  left  to  the  principal,  subject 
to  the  approval  of  the  superintendent.  As  a  rule,  the  best  trained  teachers,  those 
receiving  the  highest  salaries,  should  be  placed  in  the  lower  primary  and  the 
upper  grammar  grades,  while  the  young  and  inexperienced  should  be  placed  in 
the  intermediate."—/.  H.  Phillips.  Superintendent.  Birmingham  (Ala.)  Public 
Schools. 

52 


responsible  position,  the  morale  of  the  whole  body  is  necessarily  threatened. 
Under  such  conditions  no  efficient  force  can  be  secured,  and  even  those 
who  might  otherwise  prove  themselves  capable  and  faithful  principals 
suffer  from  the  lack  of  that  support  which  might  secure  their  success.  Too 
great  care  cannot  be  taken  in  appointing,  promoting,  and,  when  necessary, 
reducing  or  removing  principals.  A  body  of  competent  principals  (43) 
once  established,  however,  we  believe  that  to  them  should  be  assigned  a 
larger  voice  than  at  present  in  the  administration  of  school  affairs.  Any 
system  of  administration  is  peculiarly  susceptible  even  in  proportion  to  its 
general  efficiency,  to  the  danger  of  becoming  fixed  and  inflexible,  and  if 
there  is  any  system  where  spontaneity  and  right  of  initiative  with  inde- 
pendent experimentation  are  especially  needed,  it  is  in  that  of  public  in- 
struction. Therefore,  no  powers  should  be  taken  from  the  teacher  which 
do  not  necessarily  belong  to  higher  officers.  The  principal  in  his  turn 
should  be  given  the  utmost  freedom  possible  in  administering  the  schools 
assigned  to  him,  to  the  end  that  each  may  solve  for  himself  in  the  light 
of  his  own  experience  and  special  knowledge  the  problems  which  never 
present  themselves  in  exactly  the  same  form  in  two  different  schools. 

(a)    IN   THE  APPOINTMENT,   PROMOTION    AND  REMOVAL  OF  TEACH- 
ERS IN  HIS  OWN  school;  (44) 

Valid  arguments  have  been  advanced,  we  believe,  for  placing  the  final 
responsibility  of  educational  affairs  upon  the  superintendent.     It  is  ex- 

(43)  "We  recommend  that  candidates  for  principals  of  primary  schools  should 
be  required  to  pass  a  rigid  examination,  and  should  have  given  evidence,  by  their 
records,  of  unusual  executive  ability  while  teachers. 

"We  recommend  that  candidates  for  principals  of  grammar  schools  should 
be  required  to  pass  an  examination  covering  all  subjects  usually  required  for  the 
Bachelor's  degree  in  colleges  and  universities  of  recognized  standing,  including 
pedagogics. 

"We  recommend  that  principals  of  high  schools  should  be  possessed  of  Mas- 
ter's or  Doctor's  degrees  (Non  Causa  Honoris)  and  have  had  at  least  five  years 
of  successful  experience  as  principal,  or  should  have  given  evidence,  by  their 
records,  of  unusual  executive  power  while  teachers,  and  be  subject  to  a  profes- 
sional examination  of  qualifications  by  the  board  of  superintendents." — The 
George  Rowland  Club. 

"Principals  of  all  schools  should  be  graduates  of  colleges  and  be  thoroughly 
conversant  with  the  theories  of  education,  and  have  had  not  less  than  five  years' 
successful  experience  as  teachers." — A  Chicago  Principal. 

(44)  "Further,  it  seems  to  me  that  so  far  as  practicable  the  principals  of  the 
respective  schools  should  have  a  voice  in  the  selection  of  teachers  for  their 
respective  schools.  Certainly  no  teacher  should  be  retained  in  a  school  who 
is  not  acceptable  to  the  principal  thereof." — A  Chicago  Superintendent. 

53 


pected,  however,  that  in  matters  of  detail,  and  in  dealing  with  larger 
educational  problems,  he  will  be  aided  and  guided  by  the  experience  of 
his  assistants.  The  principal  also  should  have  the  privilege  of  consulta- 
tion with  his  immediate  superintendent  in  regard  to  the  affairs  of  his  own 
school,  and  in  each  case  of  assigning,  transfering  or  promoting  teachers, 
the  assistant  superintendent  should  be  expected  to  confer  with  the  prin- 
cipal of  the  school. (45)  Although  the  final  decision  of  these  questions 
should  lie  with  the  superintendent,  he  will  show  his  ability  to  secure  proper 
support  by  sharing  freely  this  responsibility  with  the  principal  of  each 
school  affected.  On  the  other  hand,  no  final  rights  in  this  matter  can  prop- 
erly be  assigned  to  the  principal  except  that  of  consultation,  which  will 
in  proportion,  again,  as  the  principal  is  the  man  for  his  position,  prove 
to  be  all  that  is  necessary.  (46) 

(b)    IN   THE   CARRYING  OUT   WITHIN   PROPER  LIMITATIONS  OF  THE 
COURSE  OF  STUDY  ; 

The  determination  in  general  outline  of  the  course  of  study  has  been 
recognized  to  be  an  important  function  of  the  board  of  education  as  rep- 
resentative of  the  people.  The  details  of  this  general  plan  have  been  as- 
signed to  the  superintendent,  acting  with  his  assistants.  No  course  of 
study,  however,  should  be  so  fixed  and  inflexible  as  not  to  allow  even  in 
important  particulars  such  modification  as  will  adapt  it  to  a  particular  dis- 
trict or  section. (47)  Exactly  the  same  studies  in  exactly  the  same  propor- 
tion and  by  exactly  similar  methods  should  not  be  taught  in  all  parts  of 
the  city.  In  settling  on  such  modifications  as  may  seem  desirable  in  a 
particular  school,  the  function  of  the  principal  implies  some  privileges  in 
determining  the  course  of  study.  While  these  privileges  should  be  clearly 
suggested  in  the  rules  of  the  board  of  education,  they  should  be  carefully 

(45)  ''We  believe  that  the  best  interests  of  the  schools  would  be  subserved  by 
consultations  with  the  principal  previous  to  permanent  appointment  of  a  teacher." 
— The  George  Howland  Club. 

(46)  "It  is  urged  that  a  term  of  trial  be  required  before  a  teacher  or  a  prin- 
cipal be  permanently  placed  in  a  school,  and  that  the  principal  be  consulted  in 
regard  to  the  appointment  of  a  teacher  or  her  transfer  into  the  school." — Ella 
F.  Young  Club,  Chicago. 

(47)  The  school  problem  in  Chicago  shows  a  wide  variation,  for  example, 
in  the  nineteenth  ward  or  twenty-third  ward  from  what  it  is  in  the  third  or 
fourth.  In  the  first  two,  the  primary  question  is  the  securing  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  English  language  by  the  children  of  foreign-born  residents,  and  for  them 
the  course  of  study  should  be  flexible  to  meet  conditions  which  vary  in  different 
schools  and  even  in  the  same  school  from  year  to  year. 

54    ' 


limited,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  responsibility  in  the  last  instance  of 
the  superintendent. 

(c)     IN   THE   CHOICE   OF   TEXT-BOOKS. 

Just  as  the  course  of  study  should  be  modified  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
principal  where  it  may  seem  necessary,  so  in  the  matter  of  text-books 
needed  in  carrying  out  the  course,  the  principal  should  be  given  a  hearing 
by  the  superintendent,  and  should  be  allowed  such  freedom  as  the  board 
of  education  may  authorize. 

SECTION    4.     (2). THAT   THE   PRINCIPAL   BE   GIVEN   DEFINED   RIGHTS: 

(a)  IN  THE  APPLICATION  AND  EXTENSION  OF  THE  DEPARTMENTAL 
PLAN  OF  INSTRUCTION,  SUBJECT  TO  THE  GENERAL  SUPERVISION  OF  THE 
ASSISTANT   SUPERINTENDENTS  ; 

The  principal  should  have  the  privilege  of  introducing,  with  the  con- 
currence of  the  superintendent  and  the  respective  assistant,  the  depart- 
mental plan  of  instruction,  that  is,  the  assignment  to  a  particular  teacher  • 
of  one  or  two  subjects  in  several  grades,  instead  of  the  full  teaching  of 
all  subjects  in  one  grade.  The  value  of  this  plan  has  been  repeatedly  recog- 
nized by  those  conversant  with  school  systems,  and  it  has  been  successfully 
employed  by  progressive  principals  in  Chicago. 

(b)  IN  THE  SUPERVISION  OF  THE  WORK  OF  THE  JANITORS  AND 
ENGINEERS. 

The  principal  should  have  certain  powers  of  control  over  the  janitor 
or  the  engineer  of  his  building. (48)     Although  the  appointment  and  dis- 

(48)  "The  principal  should  have  at  least  the  veto  power  on  the  appointment 
of  janitors,  etc.  He  should  have  the  power  of  removing  a  janitor  for  cause,  prob- 
ably subject  to  review.  In  all  large  towns  the  janitor  force  tends  to  become  a 
political  machine.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  janitors  to  bully  teachers  and  prin- 
cipals. It  may  seem  a  small  matter,  but  any  reformed  school  system  ought  to  do 
away  with  the  possibility  of  this." — A  City  Principal. 

"I  do  not  believe  that  it  is  wise  to  have  the  appointment  of  janitors  especially, 
entirely  out  of  the  charge  of  the  superintendent,  from  the  fact  that  the  efficiency 
of  the  janitor  is  very  essential  to  the  success  of  the  school,  and  in  many  cases 
an  inefficient  janitor  almost  ruins  the  comfort  of  pupils  and  teachers.  It  might 
be  well  to  allow  the  business  manager  to  appoint  the  janitor,  and  so  on,  but  cer- 
tainly the  advice  of  the  superintendent  should  be  sought  and  should  have  some 
little  binding  force.  I  think  it  should  be  made  binding  upon  the  business  man- 
ager to  consult  with  the  superintendents  and  with  the  principals  concerning  the 
appointment  of  janitors  for  each  building."— Henry  Sabin,  Ex-State  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools,  Des  Moines,  la. 

55 


charge  of  the  latter  has  been  recommended  as  one  of  the  duties  of  the 
business  manager,  yet  the  relation  between  the  principal  and  these  employes 
is  so  close  that  the  business  manager  should  be  expected  to  give  prompt 
and  careful  consideration  to  any  complaint  of  a  principal  in  regard  to  the 
care  of  his  building.  Friction  frequently  arises  between  principals  and 
janitors,  and  in  order  to  avoid  this,  the  suggestion  has  been  made  that 
the  principal  be  given  the  appointment  of  the  janitor  in  his  school. (49) 
This  plan,  however,  cannot  be  recommended,  as  it  would  be  a  violation 
of  the  ruling  idea  of  concentration  of  authority  and  responsibility  We 
suggest,  therefore,  that  at  the  request  of  the  principal  the  janitor  be  either 
discharged  or  transferred.  Such  action  is  fair  to  both  parties  and  will 
assist  also  in  avoiding  the  recognized  danger  of  personal  or  political  con- 
siderations in  the  appointment  of  the  janitor  or  the  engineer. 

SECTION   5. THAT  THE  PRINCIPAL  BE  DIRECTED  TO  TEACH   DURING  NOT 

LESS  THAN  ONE-HALF  OF  EACH   SCHOOL  DAY. 

The  cost  of  supervision  in  Chicago  seems  unduly  high.  This  does 
not  come  from  the  employment  of  too  many  assistant  superintendents. 
On  the  contrary,  your  commission  has  already  recommended  a  larger 
number  of  these  officers.  The  excessive  cost  of  supervision  here  as  com- 
pared with  that  of  many  cities,  is  due  in  part  to  the  slight  demand  made 
of  the  principals  in  the  way  of  teaching,  and  to  the  entirely  abnormal 
proportion  of  head  assistants,  assistants  to  principals  and  extra  teachers. 
Under  these  various  titles,  many  teachers  have  been  employed  who  are 
not  performing  a  fair  service  in  the  system.  A  careful  revision  of  these 
lists  would  lead  to  a  considerable  saving  in  the  cost  of  supervision  and 
instruction.  The  principal  is  rightly  expected  to  supervise  the  work  of 
his  school,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  his  time  must  be  given  to  this 
duty.  We  are  fully  persuaded,  however,  that  if  the  principal  be  required 
to  teach  at  least  half  of  the  school  day,  his  general  efficiency  will  be 
greater,  the  teaching  in  his  school  will  be  improved  and  a  saving  of  many 
thousands  of  dollars  will  be  effected. 

(49)  "No  person  is  fit  for  the  principalship  of  a  school  who  has  not  enough 
practical  ability  to  supervise  the  mere  material  side  as  well  as  the  scholastic 
side  of  school  work.  I  thoroughly  believe  that  the  best  plan  would  be  to  give 
the  principals  the  power  to  appoint  the  janitors." — A  City  Principal. 


SECTION  6.— THAT  EXPERT  INSPECTORS  BE  EMPLOYED  BY  THE  BOARD 
FROM  TIME  TO  TIME  TO  STUDY  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM  OF  THE  CITY  AND 
MAKE    REPORTS    AND    RECOMMENDATIONS    TO    THE    BOARD. 

There  is  an  inherent  danger  in  all  grades  of  educational  work  of  a 
certain  rigidity  due  to  a  lack  of  infusion  of  new  blood  and  ideas  in  the 
teaching  force.  This  is  more  particularly  true  in  the  schools  of  a  large 
city,  where  the  teachers  have  been  in  the  main  educated  under  the  same 
school  system  in  which  they  now  give  instruction.  There  is  the  further 
danger  that  the  force  of  superintendents,  immersed  of  necessity  in  daily 
routine,  will  fail  in  the  important  duty  of  grasping  the  force  and  trend 
of  new  educational  ideas  and  methods,  and  of  assimilating  them  properly 
in  the  school  system.  The  superintendent  should  be  wideawake  to  all 
advance  in  educational  thought,  but  in  this,  as  in  many  other  particulars, 
he  should  be  granted  due  and  proper  assistance.  In  order,  then,  to  pre- 
vent the  system  from  becoming  too  self -centered,  and  to  secure  the  best 
results  of  experience  elsewhere  and  the  most  competent  and  helpful  criti- 
cism of  the  general  principles  and  methods  of  our  schools,  your  com- 
mission recommends  the  employment  from  time  to  time  of  inspectors, 
whose  reports  may  serve  to  guide  the  policy  of  the  board  and  the  admin- 
istration of  the  superintendent.  These  inspectors  should  be  recognized 
experts  in  educational  affairs,  and  that  they  may  be  unbiased  and  untram- 
meled,  they  should  be  engaged  from  without  the  city. 


S7 


iftjr  ISiammatton,  tljr 

.Rppointmrnt  ant  tijr  }Jro; 

motion  of  tTrarljrrs 


ARTICLE   IV 


Your  Commission  would  respectfully  make  the  following  recommenda- 
tions affecting  the  teaching  force  of  the  city : 

SECTION    I. THAT  OF  ALL  PERSONS  SEEKING  EMPLOYMENT  AS  TEACHERS 

IN  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  THERE  BE  MADE  THE  FOLLOWING 
REQUIREMENTS  J    VIZ.,    EITHER 

(a)  A  CERTIFICATE  OF  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  OF  THE  CITY,  APPROVED 
BY  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD,  AND  A  CERTIFICATE  SIGNED  BY  A  PHYSICIAN 
APPOINTED  BY  THE  BOARD  TO  THE  EFFECT  THAT  THE  CANDIDATE  IS  IN 
GOOD   HEALTH   AND  FREE  FROM   ALL  DISABLING  FHYSICAL  DEFECTS  ;    OR 

(b)  AN   EXAMINATION   BY  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD,  AND 

(i)  EVIDENCE  APPROVED  BY  THE  EXAMINING  EOARD  OF  SUCCESSFUL 
WORK  AS  TEACHER  FOR  THE  PERIOD  OF  FOUR  YEARS,  TOGETHER  WITH 
SAID  PHYSICIAN'S   CERTIFICATE;  OR 

(2)  THE  BACHELOR'S  DEGREE  OF  A  COLLEGE  APPROVED  BY  THE  EXAMIN- 
ING BOARD  AND  EVIDENCE  OF  AT  LEAST  NINE  MONTHS'  STUDY  OF  THE 
HISTORY,  PRINCIPLES,  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING,  TOGETHER  WITH 
SAID  PHYSICIAN'S  CERTIFICATE; 
SECTION  2. — THAT  OF  ALL  PERSONS  DESIRING  TO  BE  EXAMINED  FOR  POSI- 
TIONS IN  THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS,  THERE  BE  MADE  THE  FOLLOWING 
REQUIREMENTS,  VIZ.,   EITHER 

(a)  EVIDENCE  APPROVED  BY  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD,  OF  SUCCESS- 
FUL TEACHING  IN  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  THIS  CITY  FOR  SIX  YEARS,  AND  OF 
COLLEGIATE    SCHOLARSHIP,    WITH    SAID    PHYSICIAN'S    CERTIFICATE;    OR 

(b)  THE  BACHELOR'S  DEGREE  OF  A  COLLEGE  APPROVED  BY  THE 
EXAMINING  BOARD,  WITH  SATISFACTORY  EVIDENCE  EITHER  OF  NINE 
MONTHS'  STUDY  OF  THE  HISTORY,  PRINCIPLES,  AND  PRACTICE  OF 
TEACHING,  OR  OF  THREE  YEARS'  SUCCESSFUL  TEACHING  IN  SECONDARY 
SCHOOLS,    TOGETHER    WITH    SAID    PHYSICIAN'S    CERTIFICATE; 

SECTION  3. — THAT  THE  EXAMINATION  OF  TEACHERS  BE  INTRUSTED  TO 
AN  EXAMINING  BOARD,  MAIM.  UP  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT,  ONE  OF 
THE    ASSISTANT    SUPERINTENDENTS    SELECTED    BY     HIE    SUPERINTEND- 

58 


ENT,  AND  THREE  SPECIAL  EXAMINERS;  THAT  THE  SPECIAL  EXAMINERS 
BE  GRADUATES JDF  A  COLLEGE  OF  GOOD  STANDING,  OR  POSSESS  AN  EDUCA- 
TIONAL EQUIVALENT  THERETO,  WITH  FIVE  OR  MORE  YEARS  SUCCESSFUL 
EXPERIENCE  AS  TEACHERS,  BE  APPOINTED,  ONE  EACH  YEAR,  BY  THE 
BOARD  OF  EDUCATION,  FOR  A  TERM  OF  THREE  YEARS  FROM  AN  ELIGIBLE 
LIST  OF  AT  LEAST  THREE  TIMES  THE  NUMBER  TO  BE  APPOINTED,  CERTI- 
FIED TO  BY  THE  SUPERINTENDENT;  BE  NOT  OTHERWISE  CONNECTED 
WITH  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM  OF  THE  CITY,  AND  RECEIVE  PROPER  COM- 
PENSATION FOR  THEIR  WORK,- 

SECTION    4. THAT    THE    APPOINTMENT    OF    TEACHERS,    AT    FIRST    FOR    A 

PROBATIONARY  TERM  OF  TWO  SUCCESSIVE  YEARS,  AND  AFTER  THAT  ON 
GOOD  BEHAVIOR  AND  DURING  SATISFACTORY  SERVICE,  BE   MADE  BY  THE 
SUPERINTENDENT   FROM    THE   LIST  OF   THOSE   WHO   HOLD    HIS    CERTIFI- 
"CA^ST^UTFJECT  ONLY  TO  A  VETO  BY  A   MAJORITY  OF  THE   MEMBERS  OF   ! 
THE  BOARD  ;  AND 

SECTION    5. THAT    EXPERIENCED    TEACHERS,     WHEN     APPOINTED    FROM 

OUTSIDE  THE  CITY,  AFTER  A  PHYSICAL  EXAMINATION,  BE  GIVEN  CREDIT 
FOR  SUCH  EXPERIENCE  IN  DETERMINING  THEIR  GRADE  IN  THE  SALARY 
SCFIEDULE  OF  THE  CITY,  NOT  EXCEEDING  ONE  YEAR  FOR  EACH  TWO 
YEARS  OF  SUCH  OUTSIDE  TERM  OF  SERVICE  ;  PROVIDED,  THAT  IN  NO  CASE 
CREDIT  FOR  MORE  THAN  FIVE  YEARS  BE  GIVEN  ] 
SECTION  6. — THAT  PROMOTION  BE  BASED  ON  THE  PREVIOUS  GOOD  RECORD 
OF  THE  TEACHER  AS  INDICATED  BY  THE  REPORT  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  AND 
THE  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENT,  AND  ON  PROGRESS  MADE,  BOTH  IN 
SCHOLARSHIP  AND  IN  TEACHING  ABILITY,  AS  RECOGNIZED  BY  THE 
EXAMINING  BOARD  \ 
SECTION  J.- — THAT  THE  PRESENT  SCHEDULE  OF  THE  SALARIES  OF  THE 
CITY  UNDER  RECENT  CHANGES  BE  RECOGNIZED  AS  NOT  PROPERLY  PRO- 
PORTIONED TO  THE  VARIOUS  POSITIONS  IN  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM, 
AS  PROVIDING  IN  MANY  GROUPS  SALARIES  SO  HIGH  THAT  THE  EFFI- 
CIENCY OF  THE  SCHOOLS  IN  OTHER  PARTICULARS  CANNOT  UNDER  THE 
LIMITATIONS  OF  THE  LAW  GOVERNING  THE  TAX  LEVY,  BE  ADEQUATELY 
SECURED,  AND  AS  LIABLE,  THEREFORE,  TO  CAUSE  EITHER  FINANCIAL 
EMBARRASSMENT  TO  THE  BOARD  OR  SUDDEN  AND  PREJUDICIAL 
RETRENCHMENT,  UNLESS  THE  SCFIEDULE  BE  READJUSTED  AT  AN  EARLY 

time; 
SECTION  8. — that  a  schedule  of  salaries  be  adopted  which  will 

RECOGNIZE  DISTINCTIONS  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  GRADE  OR  SUBJECTS  IN 
WHICH  THE  TEACHER  GIVES  INSTRUCTION,  THE  TERM  OF  SERVICE  OF 
THE  TEACHER,  THE  SUCCESS  ALREADY  ACHIEVED,  AND  WELL  PROVED 
ADVANCE  IN   SCHOLARSHIP  AND  TEACHING  ABILITY  J 

59 


SECTION  9. THAT  ALL  SUITABLE  MEANS  BE  USED  TO  PUT  A  LARGER  PRO- 
PORTION OF  MEN  TEACHERS  IN  THE  HIGHER  GRADES  OF  THE  ELEMENT- 
ARY SC  1 1  ()(  >LS,  AS  POSITIONS  THEREIN  MAY  HEREAFTER  BECOME  VACANT* 
AND,  IF  IT  BE  FOUND  NECESSARY  TO  THE  SECURING  OF  THIS  END,  THAT 
HIGHER  SALARIES  BE  PROVIDED  FOR  MEN  THAN  FOR  WOMEN  IN  THESE 
GRADES  J 

SECTION    10. THAT     THE     RECOMMENDATION    OF    THE    PRINCIPAL    AND 

THE  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENT  BE  ACCEPTED  AS  SUFFICIENT  REASON 
FOR  CHANGE  OF  ASSIGNMENT  BY  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  A  TEACHER 
ON  THE  GROUND  OF  INEFFICIENCY  |  AND 

SECTION  II. — THAT  AFTER  TWO  SUCH  CHANGES  IN  ASSIGNMENT,  AND 
UPON  THE  RECOMMENDATION  FOR  A  THIRD  CHANGE  BY  THE  PRINCIPAL 
AND  THE  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENT,  THE  TEACHER  SHALL  BE 
RETIRED  FROM  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM  OF  THE  CITY  BY  THE  SUPERINTEND- 
ENT, UNLESS  HIS  ACTION  BE  DISAPPROVED  BY  A  MAJORITY  VOTE  OF 
ALL  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  BOARD  NOT  LATER  THAN  THE  SECOND 
MEETING   AFTER   THE    REPORT    IS    MADE   THERETO. 


Of  all  the  questions  affecting  the  public  school  system  of  the  city,  there 
is  no  one  more  fundamental  than  that  of  securing  a  good  force  of  teachers. 
This  problem,  as  contrasted  with  many  others  which  must  be  solved  by 
the  board  of  education,  demands  the  aid  of  experts.  Your  commission  has 
already  affirmed  the  belief  that  the  superintendent  can  best  secure  the  de- 
sired endjC1)  and  that  in  his  effort,  he  must  be,  on  the  one  hand,  free 
from  suggestion  or  interference  by  the  board  in  particular  instances,  and 
on  the  other,  cordially  supported  by  his  assistants  and  by  the  principals. 
The  ideal  method  for  the  securing  of  good  teachers  in  a  small  community 
is  absolutely  unrestricted  choice  by  the  superintendent.  Even  in  cities  of 
considerable  size,  admirable  results  have  attended  this  plan,  and  in  more 
than  one  city,  the  character  of  the  teaching  force  has  been  wonderfully 
improved  within  a  short  time  after  the  granting  of  this  power  to  the  edu- 
cational head  of  the  system. (2)  The  conditions  in  a  city  of  the  largest 
size,  however,  are  essentially  different.  Here  the  number  of  teachers  is 
so  large (3)  and,  consequently,  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  on  the  superin- 
(i)   See  Article  III.  Section  1,  d. 

(2)  This  seems  notably  true  in  Minneapolis,  where  an  able  superintendent 
has  been  largely  trusted  in  these  matters  by  the  board  of  education. 

(3)  The  number  of  teachers  in  the  public  schools  of  Chicago  in  the  year  end- 
ing June,  1894,  was  3,  812,  and  for  the  succeeding  years  the  numbers  have  been 
4,326,  4,668,  4,914,  5,268.  In  the  year  ending  June,  1897,  there  were  119  resigna- 
tions and  for  the  following  year  129,  making  the  total  number  of  new  appoint- 
ments for  the  two  years,  respectively,  386  and  483. 

60 


tendent  for  the  appointment  of  individuals  is  so  great,  that  it  is  not  an 
undue  limitation  of  his  powers  for  the  state  law  or  for  the  board  to  indi- 
cate in  general  the  conditions  for  entrance  to  the  teaching  body.  The 
requirements  which  are  here  proposed,  express,  we  believe,  the  sentiments 
of  the  public  in  regard  to  the  minimum  qualifications  proper  for  a  teacher 
in  the  schools  of  Chicago,  and  will  serve  to  relieve  the  board  of  education 
and  the  superintendent  of  much  unnecessary  trouble  and  labor  over  the 
appointment  and  promotion  of  teachers.  We  suggest  that  the  conditions 
here  outlined  be  incorporated  in  the  school  law  of  the  state,  for  experience 
has  shown  that  strong  efforts  are  frequently  made  to  induce  a  board  of 
education  to  violate  its  own  principles  of  action  in  individual  cases  under 
suspension  of  the  rules.  It  appears  that  there  is  no  way  of  freeing  the 
board  from  such  annoyances  except  by  determining  these  restrictions 
through  legislative  enactment. 

That  the  superintendent  should  be  required  to  appoint  only  men  and 
women  of  good  education  and  professional  training  does  not  curtail  his 
powers,  but  aids  him  in  the  selection  of  a  corps  of  teachers ;  but  there  is  one 
principle  here  recommended  that  may  at  first  thought  appear  to  modify  his 
power  and  therefore  lessen  his  responsibility.  This  is  formulated  in  the  rec- 
ommendation for  the  appointment  of  an  examining  board. (4)  While  the 
plans  followed  in  different  cities  have  widely  varied,  the  superintendent 
under  favorable  conditions  has  frequently  possessed  the  triple  power  of 
examination,  appointment,  and  promotion  of  teachers.  Even  where  these 
powers  have  not  been  formally  delegated  to  him  by  the  board,  they  have 
been  assigned  to  him  by  tacit  consent,  since  a  board  of  education  acting  on 
intelligent  principles  recognizes,  if  not  immediately,  at  least  after  some 
experience,  the  desirability  of  this  transference  of  function. (5)      Recent 

(4)  "A  board  of  examiners  is  hereby  constituted,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
examine  all  applicants  requiring  to  be  licensed  in  and  for  the  city  of  New  York, 
and  to  issue  to  those  who  pass  the  required  tests  of  character,  scholarship  and 
general  fitness,  such  licenses  as  they  are  found  entitled  to  receive.  Such  board 
of  examiners  shall  consist  of  the  city  superintendent  of  schools,  together  with 
four  persons  appointed  by  the  board  of  education  upon  the  nomination  of  the 
city  superintendent.  The  terms  of  the  first  four  examiners  so  appointed  shall 
be  one,  two,  three  and  four  years  respectively,  and  as  their  terms  respectively 
expire,  their  successor  shall  be  appointed  for  a  full  term  of  four  years,  which 
shall  thereafter  be  the  full  and  regular  term  of  office  of  said  examiners.  They 
shall  be  paid  such  compensation  for  services  actually  rendered  as  the  board  of 
education  shall  prescribe."— Charter  of  the  City  of  New  York,  Section  1,081. 

(5)  The  superintendent  issues  certificates  to  teachers  in  Providence,  Indian- 
apolis, Allegheney  and  Denver.  The  last  named  city  offers  a  conspicuous 
example  of  giving  to  the  superintendent  the  freest  hand  in  the  management  of 
the  educational  system. 

"I  was  for  ten  years  the  superintendent  of  instruction  in  the  city  of  . 

61 


educational  history,  moreover,  shows  a  tendency  to  differentiate  the  work 
in  these  particulars.  In  large  cities  it  becomes,  after  a  certain  point,  impos- 
sible for  the  superintendent  to  form  a  correct  judgment  of  the  mass  of 
candidates  through  personal  investigation.  It  has  been  thought  wise, 
therefore,  to  transfer  this  responsibility,  first  of  all,  to  his  assistants.  Fur- 
ther reflection  seems  to  show  the  advantage  of  separating  entirely,  by 
placing  in  different  hands,  the  examination  from  the  appointment  of  candi- 
dates^6) This  is  the  basic  principle  of  a  sound  civil  service,  distinctly 
formulated  in  the  new  charter  of  New  York,  and  one  which  has  the  ap- 
proval of  our  most  experienced  educators. (7)     Considering  the  weighty 

During  these  ten  years  the  school  board  conferred  by  common  consent  on  me 
the  power  of  appointing,  promoting,  and  discharging  teachers,  they  reserving 
the  power  to  confirm  my  appointments." — A  City  Superintendent. 

"Examination  of  all  applicants  for  situations  as  teacher,  principal,  kinder- 
garten teacher  or  director  shall  be  made  by  the  superintendent  of  instruction  or 
under  his  direction.  A  record  thereof  shall  be  kept  for  the  inspection  of  the 
board.  All  appointments,  transfers  and  discharges  of  assistant  superintendents, 
supervisors,  teachers,  and  subordinates,  in  his  department,  shall  be  made  by  the 
superintendent  of  instruction  in  accordance  with  the  law  creating  this  board, 
and  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  board,  where  such  approval  is  required." — 
Rules  and  Regulations,  St.  Louis  Board  of  Education.     Rule  39,  Section  1. 

(6)  See  preceding  page.  Similar  examining  boards  have  been  formed  in 
Buffalo,  San  Francisco  and  Cincinnati. 

(7)  "I  think  the  examining  board  should  not  include  the  superintendent  or 
any  assistant  superintendent.  As  these  officers  have  much  to  do  with  promo- 
tion, it  seems  fair  that  teachers  should  be  examined  independently  of  them." 
— Seth  Low,  President,  Columbia  University. 

"It  is  in  general  accordance  with  the  principles  of  a  sound  civil  service  system 
that  the  power  to  examine  teachers  and  the  power  to  appoint,  should  be  kept 
distinct.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  a  board  of  examiners  should  be  constituted, 
in  a  city  so  large  as  Chicago,  made  up  of  the  city  superintendent  of  schools  and 
say  three  or  four  persons  nominated  by  him  and  confirmed  by  the  board  of  educa- 
tion. These  persons  should  hold  all  examinations,  whether  for  admission  to 
the  system  or  for  promotion,  and  should  certify  to  eligible  lists,  prepared  as 
the  result  of  such  action.  The  actual  appointments  and  promotions  should,  I 
believe,  be  made  by  the  board  of  superintendents,  in  which  the  city  superintendent 
would  have  but  his  own  vote,  thus  keeping  distinct  the  power  of  examination 
and  the  power  of  appointment.  These  appointments  and  promotions  should 
then  be  reported  to  the  board  of  education,  and  should  take  effect  without  action 
by  that  board,  unless  specifically  disapproved  of  within  thirty  days  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote.  This  policy  will  put  the  responsibility  for  selecting  and  adjusting 
the  teaching  force  where  it  belongs,  namely,  on  the  trained  educational  officers. 
At  the  same  time,  the  privilege  given  to  the  board  of  education  of  setting  aside 
this  action,  for  reasons  of  weight  and  by  large  vote,  is  a  protection  against  hasty 
or  injudicious  selections.  In  my  judgment,  the  less  the  board  of  education  has  to 
do  with  the  administration  of  the  purely  educational  work  of  the  system,  the 

62 


duties  attached  to  the  examination,  appointment,  and  promotion  of  teach- 
ers, in  a  city  like  Chicago,  any  plan  which,  while  not  dividing  responsi- 
bility, will  secure  an  additional  element  of  sound,  impartial  judgment,  is 
one  which  your  commission  feels  should  be  adopted.  Such  a  plan,  we 
believe,  necessitates  the  use  of  the  examining  board,  which  is  recommended 
later. 

The  subject  of  teachers'  salaries  is  a  delicate  matter. (8)  With  more 
than  five  thousand  teachers  on  the  pay-roll  of  the  city,  the  nicest  dis- 
crimination must  be  used  in  determining  an  equitable  schedule,  which 
shall  recognize  duly  the  value  of  service  in  different  positions,  which  shall 
tend  in  every  possible  way  to  stimulate  good  work  and  to  advance  scholar- 
ship, and  which  shall  offer  a  fair  reward  for  successful  effort.  For  the 
public,  on  the  other  hand,  the  board  of  education  must  secure  proper  in- 
struction without  unduly  increasing  the  tax  rate  of  the  city.  What  seem 
to  be  minor  changes  made  during  recent  months  in  the  pay  of  teachers 
of  Chicago,  have  already  increased  the  monthly  salary  list  more  than  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  and  promise  to  cause  an  annual  increase  within  a  very 
few  years  of  more  than  a  million  dollars  in  the  expense  of  the  school  sys- 
tem. (9) 

better.  It  is  the  function  of  this  board  to  represent  the  community  in  questions 
of  general  policy  and  to  select  expert  superintendents,  whose  policy  should  be 
supported  so  long  as  they  have  the  confidence  of  the  board.  When  that  con- 
fidence is  lost,  they  should  be  displaced." — Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  Columbia 
University. 

"I  think  that  a  determination  of  the  qualifications  of  the  teachers  and  their 
employment  ought  to  be  in  absolutely  independent  hands.  By  such  arrange- 
ments you  can  secure  a  far  more  independent  judgment,  in  the  one  case,  and 
action  in  the  other  than  where  the  two  functions  are  united  in  one  person  or 
body." — Thomas  B.  Stock-well,  State  Commissioner  of  Public  Schools,  Rhode 
Island. 

(8)  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  until  recently  the  teachers  of  Chicago  have 
never  united  in  general  support  of  any  proposition  except  one  that  promised  to 
affect  their  salaries,  but  on  this  point  they  have  proved  themselves  most  able  and 
successful  agitators. 

(9)  "Recent  increases  in  salaries  make  the  outlook  extremely  doubtful,  and 
while  I  have  always  been  the  friend  of  the  grade  teacher,  I  think  there  should  be 
substantial  retrenchment  wherever  possible.  As  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
retrenchment  and  reform,  together  with  those  associated  with  me  at  the  time, 
I  was  unrelenting  to  anything  calculated  to  create  unrest  among  the  grade  teach- 
ers; nevertheless,  I  maintained  there  should  be  unceasing  vigilance  to  the  end 
that  a  perfect  school  system  may  be  conducted  at  the  least  possible  cost.  Already 
we  are  spending  almost  as  much  money  for  free  schools  in  Chicago  as  some  of 
the  continental  nations  do  for  this  purpose  (Sweden  and  Norway  spend  $8,000,- 
000;  Belgium,  $9,000,000)  and  our  needs  are  increasing." — E.  G.  Halle,  Presi- 
dent's Report,  Chicago  Board  cf  Education,  1893. 

63 


Hardly  less  vital  than  these  questions  of  examination,  appointment, 
promotion,  and  pay  of  teachers,  is  the  question  of  the  removal  of  unsuc- 
cessful and  incompetent  teachers.  The  statement  has  been  freely  made 
by  those  best  acquainted  with  school  affairs  in  Chicago,  that  an  undue 
proportion  of  the  teaching  body  is  not  performing  properly  the  duties  of 
these  positions. (10)  While  we  recognize  in  general  the  high  standard 
and  efficiency  of  Chicago  teachers,  we  are  fully  persuaded  that  with  a 
better  system  of  supervision,  properly  supported  by  the  board  of  educa- 
tion and  by  public  opinion,  a  great  improvement  could  be  effected  in  the 
force  of  teachers  within  a  very  short  period.  When  teachers  are  appointed 
through  personal  or  political  influence,  and  when  they  are  retained,  and 
even  promoted  for  similar  reasons,  without  any  justification  in  their  record 
as  teachers,  and  indeed  against  the  unanimous  opinion  of  those  who  are 
best  qualified  to  judge,  there  is  sure  to  be  a  large  number  of  incompetents 
within  the  force.  (u)  The  evil  does  not  end  here.  Where  such  conditions 
prevail,  the  average  teacher  lacks  all  inspiration  to  self-improvement.  C12) 
As  human  nature  is,  such  efforts  will  only  be  inspired  by  a  sense  of  the 
necessity  of  good  work  to  retain  a  given  position,  and  by  a  consciousness 
that  honest  and  sustained  efforts  toward  self-improvement  will  be  promptly 
appreciated  and  rewarded. 

The  teaching  force  may  be  possessed  of  a  measurably  liberal  education 
and  of  a  fairly  satisfactory  professional  training.     It  may  be  impressed 

(W)  On  the  part  of  some,  there  may  he  a  tendency  to  exaggeration,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  many  who  can  and  should  speak  fearlessly  and  impartially  on 
the  question,  have  been  restrained  by  motives  of  personal  policy.  Those  who 
can  speak  from  closest  knowledge,  put  the  number  of  inefficient  teachers  at  not 
less  than  15  per  cent  of  the  entire  force. 

(n)  As  long  as  the  appointment  of  teachers  is  in  the  hands  of  the  board 
of  education,  and  consequently  much  pressure  is  brought  to  bear  on  the  mem- 
bers, such  criticisms  will  be  heard  and  will  be  in  many  instances  well  founded. 
It  is  not  true  that  members  in  general  consciously  violate  a  sense  of  justice  and 
fairness  in  this  matter,  but,  believing  that  the  right  of  appointment  is  a  personal 
privilege,  they  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not  use  it  for  the  benefit  of  their 
friends. 

(12)  "The  evil  influence  of  the  appointment  of  teachers  by  means  of  'pulls' 
does  not  appear  so  much  in  the  character  of  the  persons  appointed  as  it  does 
in  the  demoralization  of  the  body  of  teachers.  It  removes  a  strong  incentive 
to  personal  improvement.  If  the  appointments  depend  on  'pulls,'  so  may  pro- 
motions and  transfers.  Each  teacher  feels  secure  in  her  position  as  long  as 
she  has  a  friend  who  has  influence,  or  who  is  on  friendly  terms  with  some  one 
who  has  it.  It  has  several  times  happened  to  me  that  teachers  who  have  been 
admonished  of  some  neglect,  mistake  or  inefficiency  have  gone  to  their  friends 
for  protection,  instead  of  avoiding  danger  by  trying  to  do  better." — Confessions 
of  Three  Superintendents,  Atlantic,  Mo.,  November,  1898. 

64 


with  a  sense  of  responsibility  and  filled  with  enthusiasm  for  its  work.  It 
will  still  not  be  the  force  which  the  city  needs  unless  the  standard  of  ad- 
mission, and  above  all,  the  scholarship  and  the  teaching  ability  of  all  en- 
gaged in  instruction  be  constantly  advancing.  The  opportunities  for 
preparatory  education  and  training  in  Illinois  are  to-day  vastly  greater 
than  those  afforded  twenty-five  years  ago.  The  conditions  of  admission 
should  rise  correspondingly  in  every  grade  of  the  school  system.  The 
duties  of  each  teacher,  principal,  and  supervisor  become  every  year  more 
weighty.  Constant  growth  is  imperative  in  every  one  that  desires  to  grap- 
ple successfully  year  after  year  with  the  problems  which  confront  him. 
The  teacher  who  was  appointed  five  years  ago,  granting  that  he  was 
qualified  then,  is  no  longer  fit  for  his  position,  if  every  year  of  his  service 
has  not  added  to  his  general  scholarship,  as  well  as  to  his  knowledge  and 
competency  in  school  technique.  More  severe  tests  for  admission  to 
the  teaching  body,  unremitting  study  and  development,  are  the  means, 
not  only  to  educational  progress,  but  even  to  the  maintenance  of  present 
efficiency.  The  teacher  who  is  not  advancing  is  retrograding.  The  school 
system  which  does  not  each  year  demand  more  of  every  teacher,  is  in  the 
process  of  decay.     Therefore,  we  recommend  : 

SECTION  I. — THAT  OF  ALL  PERSONS  SEEKING  EMPLOYMENT  AS  TEACHERS 
IN  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  THERE  BE  MAD'S  THE  FOLLOWING  RE- 
QUIREMENTS : 

Chicago  should  command  as  highly  qualified  teachers  as  can  be  found 
in  the  country,  and,  with  proper  measures,  the  city  will  find  little  difficulty 
in  securing  them.  The  recognized  advantages  of  urban  life,  the  large 
salaries  paid  here  as  compared  with  those  of  smaller  communities,  and  the 
far  greater  opportunity  for  a  career  leading  through  successful  effort  to 
the  highest  positions  in  public  school  work,  warrant  this  assumption.  To 
secure  such  a  force  is  not  merely  feasible,  it  is  in  the  highest  sense  im- 
perative. 

In  no  city  in  the  United  States  do  more  difficult  conditions  confront 
a  school  system. (13)     Not  even  in  the  lower  wards  of  the  borough  of  Man- 

(13)  This  statement  is  true,  although,  educationally  speaking,  Chicago  seems 
far  in  advance  of  New  York.  The  school  accommodations  in  this  city  are 
deficient,  but  the  situation  in  the  latter  city  is  incomparably  worse.  The  educa- 
tional condition  of  New  York  is  astonishing.  The  police  census  shows  that 
there  are  702,162  children  of  school  age  in  the  city,  but  of  these  only  468,229 
are  enrolled  in  either  the  public  or  private  schools,  and  the  average  attendance 
is  only  334,184.     One  of  the  reasons  is  that  there  isn't  room  enough.     The  total 

65 


hattan,  thickly  populated  by  foreign-born  residents,  and  in  many  instances 
by  representatives  of  the  lowest  classes,  is  the  problem  of  how  to  secure 
through  the  public  school  system  that  assimilation  of  heterogenous  ele- 
ments, which  is  the  supreme  need  of  our  civilization,  presented  more  defi- 
nitely. In  reviewing  the  school  districts  of  Chicago,  section  after  section 
is  found  where  a  large  proportion  of  school  children  comes  from  families 
to  whom  English  is  barely  known,  and  where  under  the  best  conditions, 
the  ideas  and  traditions  of  the  home  are  utterly  opposed  to  the  require- 
ments of  American  citizenship.  (14)  This  situation  demands  of  the  Chicago 
teachers  broad  culture  and  thorough  professional  training.  Your  commis- 
sion, then,  believes  that  Chicago  needs  the  best  teachers  of  the  country, 
and  feels  assured  that  these  can  be  obtained,  if  the  law  will  define  the  re- 
quirements to  be  made  of  all  candidates  in  such  a  way  as  to  protect  the 
superintendent  from  a  deluge  of  unfit  applicants ;  and  if  the  board  of  educa- 
tion will  leave  the  superintendent  free  to  choose  the  teachers  from  those 
who  have  been  prepared  adequately  for  such  work.  We  believe  that  such 
a  preparation  includes : 

(a)  A  CERTIFICATE  OF  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  OF  THE  CITY,  APPROVED 
BY  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD,  AND  A  CERTIFICATE  SIGNED  BY  A  PHYSICIAN 
APPOINTED  BY  THE  BOARD  TO  THE  EFFECT  THAT  THE  CANDIDATE  IS  IN 
GOOD    HEALTH    AND   FREE    FROM    ALL   DISABLING    PHYSICAL   DEFECTS; 

The  arguments  for  the  support  by  the  city  of  a  normal  school  for  the 

seating  capacity  of  all  the  school  houses  of  Greater  New  York  will  only  accommo- 
date 385,091,  or  only  about  one-half  of  those  who  ought  to  be  in  attendance. 
There  are  only  four  hundred  and  five  school  houses  altogether.  Thirty-two 
new  buildings  were  added  last  year,  and  fifteen  of  the  old  ones  were  enlarged. 
The  total  number  of  teachers  employed  was  4,952,  which  is  an  average  of  one 
to  every  eighty-four  children  of  school  age,  one  to  fifty  of  the  enrolled  and  one 
to  thirty-five  of  the  average  attendance.  The  total  expenditures  for  school  pur- 
poses in  Greater  New  York  last  year  were  $10,576,770.  making  the  average  cost 
per  pupil  $22.48. 

(14)  According  to  a  recent  census,  the  major  part  of  the  population  in  the 
seventh,  eighth,  ninth  and  twenty-third  wards  of  Chicago  is  foreign  born. 
In  the  seventh  ward,  where  there  are  950  persons  classed  as  Americans — that 
is,  descended  from  parents  born  in  this  country,  there  arc  more  than  4,000 
foreign-born  Germans  and  more  than  7,000  American-born  Germans  of  foreign 
parentage;  over  1,400  foreign-born  Poles  and  nearly  3,000  American  Poles  of 
foreign  parentage.  In  the  sixteenth  ward  there  are  less  than  2,500  Americans, 
under  this  distinction  of  the  word;  nearly  10,000  foreign-born  Germans  and 
an  equal  number  of  American  Germans  of  foreign  parentage ;  over  4,000  foreign 
Norwegians  and  nearly  3,000  American  Norwegians  of  foreign  parentage; 
nearly  15,000  foreign-born  Poles  and  over  12,000  American-born  of  Polish  parent 

66 


preparation  of  teachers,  will  be  adduced  in  a  later  article. (15)  From  the 
graduates  of  this  school  the  teachers  will  be  chosen,  in  the  majority  of 
instances  (16),  and  the  diploma  of  the  school  should  be  the  minimum  con- 
dition of  entering  the  body  of  teachers.  Since,  however,  it  often  happens, 
fortunately,  that  there  is  a  larger  number  of  graduates  than  can  be  imme- 
diately assigned  positions,  the  examining  board  should  enter  the  graduates 
of  the  normal  school  on  the  list  of  eligibles  in  such  order  as  indicates  their 
fitness  for  appointment,  and,  other  things  being  equal,  the  superintendent 
should  recommend  from  this  list  in  the  order  thus  established. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  complaints  made  against  the  schools  is  the 
presence  on  the  teaching  force  of  many  who  are  handicapped  and,  perhaps, 
even  rendered  unfit  for  service  by  reason  of  physical  disability  or  ill-health. 
In  many  instances  such  disability  existed  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  teach- 
er's work,  and  not  infrequently  in  the  normal  school.  Precautions  should  be 
taken,  therefore,  in  the  selection  of  teachers,  to  avoid  this  danger.  The 
certificate  of  health  here  proposed,  in  the  hands  of  a  reputable  and  careful 
physician,  appointed  by  the  board,  will  go  far  to  obviate  this  difficulty,  and 
will  contribute  in  a  great  measure  to  the  increase  of  efficiency  in  the  teach- 
ing body.(17) 

age.  These  figures  do  not  include  the  foreign-born  or  the  American-born  of 
foreign  parentage  among  the  Bulgarians,  Bohemians,  Canadians,  Danish,  English, 
French,  Dutch,  Hungarians  and  Italians,  of  which  nations  there  are  representa- 
tives sometimes  in  very  large  numbers  in  each  of  these  wards.  Such  a  statement 
can  only  suggest  one  of  the  greatest  problems  of  education  in  Chicago. 

(15)  See  Article  VII. 

(16)  "Every  city  has  come  of  necessity  to  look  to  the  graduates  of  its  own 
local  school  system  for  an  overwhelming  supply  of  its  elementary  teachers.  This 
fact  of  itself  indicates  two  great  dangers  to  which  the  city  schools  are  exposed. 
The  first  is  the  danger  from  the  political,  religious  and  social  influences  that 
may  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  appointing  power  by  friends  of  local  aspirants 
for  teaching  positions.  The  second  is  that  a  strong  feeling  is  apt  to  develop 
in  the  city  against  the  employment  of  any  outside  teachers  whatever ;  and  this 
leads  to  what  is  known  as  in-breeding,  which  is  one  of  the  main  sources  of 
stagnation  in  a  large  city  system.  Any  city  training  school  must  be  so  organized 
as  to  minimize  the  dangers  due  to  these  two  causes." — Nicholas  Murray  Butler, 
Columbia  University. 

(17)  "I  like  what  is  said  in  regard  to  the  candidates  being  in  good  health 
and  free  from  disabling  physical  defects.  If  the  physician  is  honest  in  his 
report  and  correct  in  his  judgment,  it  will  free  the  schools  from  a  vast  amount 
of  poor  teaching." — Henry  Sabin,  Ex-Superintendent  of  Instruction  (Iowa.) 

"I  am  particularly  impressed  with  the  requirement  of  health  certificates  for 
applicants  for  teachers'  positions.  This  is  a  movement  in  the  right  direction. 
I  am  satisfied  that  the  superintendents  throughout  the  country  are  frequently 

67 


In  other  instances  the  preparation  may  be  indicated  by 

(b)    AN  EXAMINATION  BY  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD,  AND 
(i)     EVIDENCE    APPROVED    BY    THE    EXAMINING    BOARD    OF    SUCCESSFUL 
WORK  AS  TEACHER  FOR  THE  PERIOD  OF   FOUR  YEARS,  TOGETHER   WITH 
SAID  PHYSICIAN'S  CERTIFICATE;  OR 

(2)  THE  BACHELOR'S  DEGREE  OF  A  COLLEGE (1S),  APPROVED  BY  THE  EX- 
AMINING BOARD,  AND  EVIDENCE  OF  AT  LEAST  NINE  MONTHS'  STUDY  OF 
THE  HISTORY,  PRINCIPLES,  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING,  TOGETHER 
WITH   SAID  PHYSICIAN'S  CERTIFICATE. 

While  the  teachers  of  Chicago  will  always  come  in  great  measure  from 
the  graduates  of  the  city  normal  school,  it  is  often  desirable  to  secure  from 
the  outside,  men  and  women  who  have  been  conspicuously  successful. 
Thus  fresh  blood  may  be  infused  into  the  system.  This  will  keep  the 
schools  from  the  imminent  danger  of  becoming  too  self-centered.  An  ex- 
amination by  the  examining  board  should  be  required  of  all  teachers  from 
outside  the  city,  and  this  examination  should  clearly  prove  the  possession 
by  those  certified,  of  an  education  at  least  as  liberal  as  that  of  the  Chicago 
high  schools,  and  a  grade  of  professional  training  not  inferior  to  that  of 
the  Chicago  normal  school.  As  only  experienced  teachers  of  ability  are  to 
be  encouraged  to  enter  our  schools,  a  further  requirement  should  be  made 
of  successful  teaching  through  a  term  of  years,  in  addition  to  good  health, 
such  as  has  been  already  indicated  by  the  physician's  certificate. 

The  education  afforded  in  a  city  high  school,  and  the  special  training 
of  a  good  normal  school,  form  the  minimum  preparation  which  can  be 
regarded  as  satisfactory.  Many  who  have  a  preparation  much  superior 
to  this  would  doubtless  gladly  accept  positions  in  our  schools.  Notably 
is  this  the  case  with  college  graduates — men  and  women  of  liberal  educa- 
tion, who  see  in  our  city  schools  the  opportunities  of  professional  advance 
not  offered  in  smaller  communities.  In  order  to  attract  these,  your  com- 
mission believes  it  would  be  well  to  open  the  way  to  them  by  recognizing 

worried  with  the  appointment  of  teachers  physically  unfit  to  perform  their, 
duties  as  they  should  be  performed." — Warren  Easton,  Superintendent,  Public 
Schools,  New  Orleans,  La. 

(18)  "Graduates  of  colleges  and  universities  recognized  by  the  regents  of 
the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York,  who  have  pursued  for  not  less  than 
one  year  pedagogical  courses  therein,  graduates  of  schools  and  colleges  for 
the  training  of  teachers  approved  by  the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion, and  teachers  holding  a  certificate  issued  by  the  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction  since  the  year  1875,  or  holding  a  college  graduate's  certificate 
issued  by  the  same  authority,  may  be  exempted,  in  whole  or  in  part,  from  such 
examination  at  the  discretion  of  the  city  superintendent."— Charter  of  the  City 
of  New  York,  Section  1,081. 

68 


their  college  work  as  a  fair  equivalent  of  normal  school  training.  (19)  Yet 
care  must  be  exercised  in  accrediting  candidates  from  these  institutions ; 
the  examining  board  should  be  satisfied  that  the  college  in  question  offers 
opportunities  for  a  liberal  education,  and  that  its  diploma  is  a  fair  proof 
of  the  satisfactory  completion  of  its  course.  (20)  The  college  applicant, 
further,  should  have  completed  a  systematic  course  of  study  in  the  his- 
tory, principles,  and  practice  of  teaching. 

SECTION  2. — THAT  OF  ALL  PERSONS  DESIRING  TO  BE  EXAMINED  FOR  POSI- 
TIONS IN  THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS,  THERE  BE  MADE  THE  FOLLOWING 
REQUIREMENTS  : 

The  conditions  of  admission  to  positions  in  the  high  schools  of  the 
city  should  naturally  be  more  severe  than  those  which  are  imposed  in  the 
case  of  the  elementary  schools.  There  is  a  growing  tendency  throughout 
the  country  to  admit  as  high  school  teachers  only  those  possessed  of  college 
degrees ;  this  is  practically  an  absolute  rule  even  in  some  of  the  smaller 
communities  of  our  state.  Your  commission  notes  with  pleasure  an  in- 
creasing proportion  in  our  high  schools  of  persons  thus  trained.  We  be- 
lieve that  it  is  a  sound  educational  principle  that  no  one  should  teach  in 
the  schools  of  a  given  grade  who  has  not  had  the  broader  and  deeper 
education  afforded  in  the  schools  of  higher  grade.  (21)     There  should  be 

(19)  Some  recognition  is  given  college  graduates  at  present,  the  rules  and 
regulations  of  the  board  (page  24)  providing  that  "candidates  unquestionably 
qualified  by  degrees  conferred  by  colleges  of  high  standing  and  also  recommended 
as  successful  teachers,  shall  receive  certificates  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
superintendent  and  four  of  the  assistant  superintendents  and  a  vote  of  the 
majority  of  the  board."  In  addition  to  this,  college  training  is  taken  as  clearly 
equivalent  to  the  four  years  of  teaching  required  of  outsiders  who  desire  to 
enter  the  service  of  the  city.  It  may  be  well  to  leave  the  examining  board 
quite  free  in  their  test  of  these  applicants,  even  to  the  extent  of  making  this 
examination  itself  largely  formal,  depending  upon  the  character  of  the  institu- 
tions granting  the  degrees.  To  secure  this,  the  examining  board  should  prepare 
a  list  of  accredited  colleges. 

(20)  "The  'diploma  of  a  college'  and  the  evidence  of  'at  least  nine  months' 
study  of  pedogogy'  have  very  little  value  in  themselves  except  as  minimum 
requirements.  There  are  plenty  of  'colleges'  whose  diplomas  and  courses  in  peda- 
gogy are  little  more  than  'fakes,'  and  such  institutions  will  be  much  in  evidence 
if  any  value  is  attached  to  their  product— is,  in  fact,  very  near  to  Chicago  now." — 
Dai/id  Starr  Jordan,  President  Leland  Stanford  University. 

(21)  "It  is  a  widely  prevalent  doctrine,  to  which  the  customs  of  our  best 
schools  conform,  that  teachers  of  elementary  schools  should  have  a  secondary 
or  high  school  education.     Your  committee  believe  that  these  are  the  minimum 

69 


no  teachers  in  our  elementary  schools  who  have  not  had  at  least  a  high 
school  and  a  normal  school  training.  And  every  teacher  in  our  high  schools 
should  have  had  a  college  education  or  what  may  fairly  be  reckoned  as  an 
equivalent^22)  At  the  same  time,  there  are,  in  our  elementary  schools, 
teachers,  who  by  reason  of  superior  natural  endowment  and  prolonged 
and  specialized  study,  are  competent  to  fill  positions  in  the  Chicago  high 
schools.  Although  provision  should  be  made  in  such  cases  for  advance 
from  the  lower  grades,  this  privilege  should  be  carefully  restricted  by  the 
board  of  education,  and  all  who  desire  such  promotion  should  be  required 
to  pass  a  rigid  examination  by  the  examining  board.  This  examination 
should  prove  that  the  successful  candidate  possesses  general  information 
equal  to  that  of  a  graduate  of  a  good  college,  but  not  merely  this.  In 
addition,  the  candidate  must  evince  training  in  mental  habits,  power  of 
clear  conception  and  of  logical  thinking,  and  ability  to  grasp  and  to  assimi- 
late ideas, — qualities  which  are  the  best  results  of  university  study.  Since 
teaching  in  our  high  schools  is  specialized,  the  applicant  for  promotion 
should  be  fully  able  to  give  instruction  in  at  least  two  or  three  kindred 
branches.  To  do  this,  his  training  and  attainments  must  equal  that  of 
men  who  in  addition  to  the  college  course  have  had  a  fair  amount  of  gradu- 
ate study  along  special  lines.     In  view  of  these  considerations,  we  recom- 

requirements  that  can  generally  be  accepted,  that  the  scholarship  and  power 
gained  by  four  years  of  study  in  advance  of  the  pupil  are  not  too  much  to  be 
rightfully  demanded,  and  that,  as  a  rule,  no  one  ought  to  become  a  teacher 
who  has  not  the  age  and  the  attainments  presupposed  in  the  possessor  of  a 
high  school  diploma.  There  are  differences  in  high  schools,  it  is  true,  and  a 
high  school  diploma  is  not  a  fixed  standard  of  attainment ;  but  in  these  United 
States  it  is  one  of  the  most  definite  and  uniform  standards  that  we  possess, 
and  varies  less  than  college  degrees  vary,  or  than  elementary  schools  or  local 
standards  of  culture  vary." — Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  i. 

(22)  "I  wiH  leave  out  of  account  the  preparation  of  secondary  school 
teachers  and  educational  administrative  officers.  These  should  always  have  a 
college  education  and  also  a  professional  training,  obtained,  if  possible,  in  the 
educational  department  of  a  college  or  university." — Nicholas  Murray  Butler, 
Columbia  University. 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  entrance  of  college  graduates  into  public  school 
work,  the  following  was  provided  in  Senate  bill  615,  February  24,  1889:  "Section 
273— Instruction  of  teachers  in  universities  and  colleges — If  a  university  or  col- 
lege in  this  state  (New  York)  maintains  an  educational  department  or  teachers' 
training  class,  and  the  course  and  period  of  instruction  therein,  so  far  as  relates 
to  the  theory  and  practice,  are  approved  by  the  state  superintendent,  a  certifi- 
cate or  diploma  issued  to  a  graduate  of  such  department  or  class,  when  signed 
by  the  state  superintendent,  has  the  same  force  and  effect  and  entitles  the  holder 
to  the  same  privileges  as  a  teacher's  diploma  issued  by  a  state  normal  school. 
The  state  may  at  any  time  visit  and  inspect  such  an  education  department  or 
training  class." 

70 


mend  that  there  be  required  of  those  desiring-  high  school  positions,  in 
addition  to  the  usual  examination,  either 

(a)  EVIDENCE  APPROVED  BY  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD,  OF  SUCCESS- 
FUL TEACHING  IN  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  THIS  CITY  FOR  SIX  YEARS,  AND  OF 
COLLEGIATE    SCHOLARSHIP,    WITH    SAID    PHYSICIAN'S    CERTIFICATE;    OR 

(b)  THE  BACHELOR'S  DEGREE  OF  A  COLLEGE  APPROVED  BY  THE  EX- 
AMINING BOARD,  WITH  SATISFACTORY  EVIDENCE  EITHER  OF  NINE 
MONTHS'  STUDY  OF  THE  HISTORY,  PRINCIPLES,  AND  PRACTICE  OF 
TEACHING,  OR  OF  THREE  YEARS'  SUCCESSFUL  TEACHING  IN  SECONDARY 
SCHOOLS,  TOGETHER  WITH   SAID  PHYSICIAN'S   CERTIFICATE. 

In  the  latter  instance,  again,  the  rank  of  the  college  should  be  carefully 
considered  by  the  examining  board.  In  lieu  of  the  college  course  in  the 
history,  principles,  and  practice  of  teaching,  your  commission  would 
recommend  the  acceptance  of  satisfactory  evidence  of  at  least  three  years' 
successful  experience  in  secondary  school  work. 

SECTION  3. — THAT  THE  EXAMINATION  OF  TEACHERS  BE  INTRUSTED  TO 
AN  EXAMINING  BOARD,  MADE  UP  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT,  ONE  OF 
THE  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENTS  SELECTED  BY  THE  SUPERINTEND- 
ENT, AND  THREE  SPECIAL  EXAMINERS  ;  THAT  THE  SPECIAL  EXAMINERS 
BE  GRADUATES  OF  A  COLLEGE  OF  GOOD  STANDING,  OR  POSSESS  AN  EDU- 
CATIONAL EQUIVALENT  THERETO,  WITH  FIVE  OR  MORE  YEARS'  SUC- 
CESSFUL EXPERIENCE  AS  TEACHERS,  BE  APPOINTED,  ONE  EACH 
YEAR,  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION,  FOR  A  TERM  OF  THREE  YEARS 
FROM  AN  ELIGIBLE  LIST  OF  AT  LEAST  THREE  TIMES  THE  NUMBER  TO  BE 
APPOINTED,  CERTIFIED  TO  BY  THE  SUPERINTENDENT;  BE  NOT  OTHER- 
WISE CONNECTED  WITH  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM  OF  THE  CITY,  AND  RE- 
CEIVE   PROPER    COMPENSATION    FOR    THEIR    WORK.  (23) 

(23)  If  the  superintendent  were  himself  to  select  the  members  of  the 
examining  board,  there  would  be  no  advantage  apparent  in  the  institution  of 
such  a  board  as  compared  with  the  very  common  method  of  leaving  the  examina- 
tion to  him  and  his  assistants.  The  latter  in  many  particulars  would  be  as 
competent  to  perform  this  work  as  are  the  special  examiners  here  suggested. 
In  addition,  however,  to  the  impartiality  which  may  be  guaranteed  by  giving 
this  function  to  men  not  in  any  way  connected  with  the  appointment  of  teachers, 
there  should  be  gained  through  the  examining  board  the  advantage  which  lies 
in  a  different  if  not  a  broader  conception  of  the  public  schools.  This  result 
cannot  be  expected  if  the  superintendent  directly  selects  the  examiners,  since,  in 
that  case,  he  would  be  led  (it  may  be  unconsciously)  to  take  those  who  are  in 
full  sympathy  with  his  views.  His  responsibility  in  the  matter  is  sufficiently 
protected  if  the  examiners  be  chosen  from  a  properly  certified  list. 


OF   THB 


The  arguments (24)  for  creating  an  examining  board  have  been  already 
suggested.  In  order  to  secure  another  element  of  impartiality  in  the 
appointment  of  teachers,  the  majority  of  this  board  should  be  composed 
of  men  not  otherwise  connected  with  the  school  system  of  the  city.  The 
superintendent  should  be  chairman  of  this  board.  His  presence,  together 
with  one  assistant  superintendent,  would  assist  in  forming  a  preliminary 
judgment  at  least  of  the  capacity  or  fitness  of  the  applicants.  The  examin- 
ing board  should  include  only  graduates  of  a  good  college,  who  have  had 
successful  experience  as  teachers  for  a  term  of  years.  The  appointment 
of  the  examining  board  should  not  be  in  the  hands  of  the  superintendent 
directly,  but,  as  a  guarantee  of  a  suitable  selection,  the  members 
should  be  taken  from  a  list  properly  certified  by  him.  For  the  sake  of 
continuity  in  the  work  of  the  board  of  examiners,  the  members  might  well 
be  appointed  for  not  less  than  three  years,  one  position  to  be  filled  at  the 
end  of  each  year.  The  work  of  the  examining  board  will  be  severe,  in- 
cluding as  it  should  a  supervision  not  only  of  examinations  for  entrance 
to  the  normal  school  (25)  and  graduation  from  it,  but  also  of  examination 
of  applicants  from  outside;  and  the  test  of  teachers  for  promotion,  as  here- 
after suggested,  and  of  the  work  of  all  grades.  (26)  Therefore,  the  exam- 
iners should  devote  their  exclusive  attention  to  this  service  and  receive 
proper  compensation.  The  existence  of  this  board  would  offer,  we  believe, 
an  additional  advantage  in  the  possibility  of  more  frequent  examinations 
for  many  of  the  purposes  mentioned  above. 

(24)  See  introductory  statement  of  this  article. 

(25)  "Successful  graduates  of  the  city  training  school  should  be  given 
provisional  licenses  to  teach  and  should  take  their  place  on  the  eligible  list 
of  the  city  according  to  their  scholarship  and  professional  capacity  indicated  by 
the  record  of  the  city  training  school.  For  this  purpose  the  city  board  of  exam- 
iners should  have  authority  to  inspect  the  work  of  the  city  training  school  and 
should  conduct  all  examinations  for  graduation  from  it,  inasmuch  as  graduation 
leads  to  a  position  on  the  eligible  list." — Nicholas  Murray  Butler.  Columbia 
University. 

(26)  The  examining  board  could  powerfully  affect  the  teaching  throughout 
the  system  by  arranging  special  examinations  from  time  to  time  for  the  various 
grades.  These  examinations,  carefully  conducted,  would  be,  at  the  same  time, 
a  test  of  the  various  teachers,  a  guidance  to  them  in  proper  methods  of  instruc- 
tion and  a  stimulus  to  keep  fully  abreast  with  current  educational  thought.  The 
questions  should  not  be  planned  to  test  primarily  the  industry  of  the  pupil. 
They  should,  however,  be  a  test  of  their  ability  to  comprehend  and  to  express, 
and  the  answers  obtained  should  be  a  basis  for  criticism,  not  only  of  the  methods 
employed  by  the  teachers,  but  also  of  the  general  educational  value  of  the  course 
of  study. 

72 


SECTION    4. THAT    THE    APPOINTMENT    OF    TEACHERS,    AT    FIRST    FOR    A 

PROBATIONARY  TERM  OF  TWO  SUCCESSIVE  YEARS,  AND  AFTER  THAT  ON 
GOOD  BEHAVIOR  AND  DURING  SATISFACTORY  SERVICE,  BE  MADE  BY  THE 
SUPERINTENDENT  FROM  THE  LIST  OF  THOSE  WHO  HOLD  HIS  CERTIFI- 
CATES, SUBJECT  ONLY  TO  A  VETO  BY  A  MAJORITY  OF  THE  MEMBERS  OF 
THE  BOARD. 

Although  the  appointment  of  teachers  should  be  made  by  the  superin- 
tendent subject  to  the  approval  of  the  board,  no  candidate  should  be 
permanently  appointed  except  after  a  probationary  term  of  two  successive 
years. (27)  This  will  afford  the  surest  test  of  the  sustained  efficiency  and 
enthusiasm  of  the  teacher.  After  such  a  probation  satisfactorily  completed, 
the  teacher  should  receive  a  permanent  appointment  during  satisfactory 
service  and  on  good  behavior,  and  not  be  subject,  as  at  present,  to  a  yearly 
election. 

SECTION    5. THAT    EXPERIENCED    TEACHERS,    WHEN    APPOINTED    FROM 

OUTSIDE  THE  CITY,  AFTER  A  PHYSICAL  EXAMINATION  SIMILAR  TO 
THAT  REQUIRED  OF  OTHER  CANDIDATES,  BE  GIVEN  CREDIT  FOR 
SUCH  EXPERIENCE  IN  DETERMINING  THEIR  GRADE  IN  THE  SALARY 
SCHEDULE  OF  THE  CITY,  NOT  EXCEEDING  ONE  YEAR  FOR  EACH  TWO 
YEARS  OF  SUCH  OUTSIDE  TERM  OF  SERVICE  ;  PROVIDED,  THAT  IN  NO  CASE 
CREDIT  FOR  MORE  THAN  FIVE  YEARS  BE  GIVEN. 

Under  any  schedule  of  salaries  the  pay  of  teachers  will  naturally  in- 
crease with  length  of  service,  and  it  is  only  fair  that  teachers  admitted  to 
the  Chicago  schools  from  outside  should  receive  credit  for  the  successful 
experience  that  has  made  them  desirable  additions  to  the  teaching  body.(28) 

(27)  "My  belief  is  that  no  license  to  teach  should  ever  be  made  permanent 
until  after  successful  teaching  experience  has  been  had.  Therefore,  as  indicated 
above,  only  a  provisional  license  should  be  granted  to  graduates  of  a  training 
school ;  but  this  license  should  become  permanent  by  action  of  the  city  super- 
intendent and  the  board  .if  examiners  after  one  or  more  years  of  successful 
schoolroom  experience." — Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  Columbia  University. 

"Licenses  to  teach  should  be  issued  by  the  city  superintendent  of  schools 
for  a  period  of  one  year,  which  may  be  renewed  without  examination  in  case 
the  work  of  the  holder  is  satisfactory  to  the  borough  sunerintendent  for  two 
successive  years.  At  the  close  of  the  third  year  of  continuous  successful  service 
the  city  superintendent  may  make  the  license  permanent.  Authority  to  revoke 
any  permanent  license  for  cause  shall  be  vested  in  the  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction." — Charter  of  the  City  of  New  York,  Section  1,081. 

(28)  "We  recommend  that  both  principals  and  teachers  be  given  credit  for 
previous  successful  experience  elsewhere,  in  determining  the  salary  to  be  paid 
them." — The  George  Hozvland  Club. 

73 


What  this  credit  should  he  it  is  not  easy  to  determine.  As  a  rule,  such 
teachers  have  not  received  as  large  a  salary  in  their  previous  work  as  is 
paid  in  similar  positions  in  our  schools.  To  give  them  full  allowance  year 
for  year  for  their  work,  would  seem  an  unjust  discrimination  against  the 
great  body  of  Chicago  teachers  who  have  gained  their  professional  training 
under  stricter  requirements  and  proved  their  efficiency  under  more  diffi- 
cult and  arduous  conditions.  Although  it  is  highly  desirable  to  get  effi- 
cient teachers  from  without  (29),  yet  the  greater  acquaintance  of  our  teach- 
ers with  the  problems  of  the  Chicago  schools  should  give  them  a  distinct 
advantage  over  all  competitors.  Recognizing  the  complex  nature  of  the 
problem,  we  find  no  better  way  than  to  give  to  the  examining  board  the 
determination  of  such  credit,  within  the  limits  suggested. 

SECTION    6. THAT  PROMOTIONS  BE  BASED  ON  THE  PREVIOUS  GOOD  RECORD 

OF  THE  TEACHER  AS  INDICATED  BY  THE  REPORT  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  AND 
THE  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENT,  AND  ON  PROGRESS  MADE,  BOTH  IN 
SCHOLARSHIP  AND  IN  TEACHING  ABILITY,  AS  RECOGNIZED  BY  THE  EX- 
AMINING  BOARD. 

The  promotion  of  teachers  should  be  based  on  two  conditions  :(30) 
First,  the  success  of  the  teacher  in  previous  work ;  second,  the  progress 
which  the  teacher  can  show,  both  in  general  scholarship  and  teaching 
ability.    A  moderate  success  in  a  given  position  may  justify  the  retention 

(29)  "It  is  well  to  make  it  possible  to  strengthen  the  force  of  teachers  by 
the  bringing  in  of  capable  men  and  women  from  the  outside.  It  is  well  to 
retain  and  promote  competent  and  growing  teachers,  but  it  is  not  well  to  pro- 
mote those  whose  growth  has  not  deserved  promotion." — David  Starr  Jordan, 
Leland  Stanford  University. 

"I  cannot  but  deprecate  for  any  school  system,  the  policy  of  drawing  too 
exclusively  upon  its  own  talent  for  its  teaching  force,  for  I  feel  sure  that  such  a 
policy  is  a  mistaken  one,  and  if  carried  on  too  far.  as  it  may  be.  the  schools 
are  almost  certain  to  degenerate  to  a  low  grade.  It  too  often  happens  under 
such  terms  that  the  teachers  lose  ambition  for  high  service,  because  more  or 
less  wedded  to  routine  methods  and  drift  into  contracted  habits  of  thought  and 
work.  For  the  correction  of  these  reactionary  habits,  a  class  of  teachers  educated 
and  trained  in  other  schools,  and  by  other  agencies  than  our  own,  is  imperatively 
demanded  by  the  highest  needs  of  our  school  economy.  The  views  and  habits 
of  thought  entertained  by  our  home  product,  and  by  those  who  come  to  us  from 
other  localities,  naturally  modify  and  stimulate  each  other  and  provoke  a  more 
efficient  service.  It  seems  wise,  therefore,  that  a  judicious  complement  of 
teachers  from  abroad  be  ever  and  anon  added  to  the  department  of  instruction 
if  we  hope  to  maintain  high,  rank  among  the  schools  of  the  country."—!).  R. 
Cameron,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1895. 

(30)  ".\s  regards  the  promotion  of  teachers,  there  should  be  every  year  a 
record  made  of  the  success  of  the  teachers,  said  record  being  formed  on  the 
report  of  the  principal  of  the  school  in  which  the  teacher  is  working,  and  the 
same  should  be  confirmed  by  the  superintendent.     From  a  list  of  the  teachers 

74 


of  the  teacher  on  the  pay-roll  of  the  city,  but  that  alone  does  not  justify 
promotion  either  in  the  grade  of  work  assigned  or  in  salary.  There  is 
no  more  potent  influence  in  raising  the  professional  standard  of  a  teaching 
body  than  a  rational  method  of  promotion,  which  offers  each  teacher  the 
possibility  of  sure  recognition  and  suitable  reward.  This  is  a  principle 
which  has  not  been,  we  believe,  properly  recognized  and  enforced  in  the 
administration  of  Chicago  schools,  and  your  commission  does  not  know 
any  more  important  and  fundamental  question  lying  distinctly  within  the 
duties  of  the  board  of  education  than  that  of  drawing  up  a  plan  of  pro- 
motion that  will  secure  these  results. 

The  record  of  a  teacher  will  be  judged  mainly  by  the  report  of  the 
principal  and  the  assistant  superintendent,  and  no  promotion  should  be 
made  without  their  recommendation.  In  addition  to  this,  all  promotions 
should  be  conditioned  on  careful  examination  and  approval  by  the  exam- 
ining board. (31)  On  the  recommendation  of  the  principal  and  the  assist- 
ant superintendent,  and  on  the  expressed  approval  of  the  examining  board, 
the  superintendent  should  be  empowered  to  assign  the  teacher  to  the  new 
rank  or  to  a  higher  grade  in  the  salary  schedule. 

who  have  attained  the  highest  rank  in  (a)  ability  to  instruct,  (b)  ability  to 
govern  in  an  efficient  and  humane  manner,  (c)  other  good  qualities  of  char- 
acter and  zeal  in  promoting  the  best  interests  of  the  schools,  promotions  may  be 
recommended." — William  T.  Harris,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education. 

"Concerning  the  promotion  of  teachers,  the  first  idea  that  seems  to  strike 
me  is,  that  in  our  present  system  there  is  no  such  thing  as  the  promotion  of  a 
teacher  other  than  that  worked  by  the  flight  of  time  (except  her  election  to 
a  higher  office).  I  judge  it  to  be  the  almost  unanimous  opinion  that  this  is 
entirely  wrong,  and  that  a  plan  should  be  put  in  operation  by  which  merit  shall 
be  recognized.  I  think  it  is  the  well-nigh  unanimous  opinion  that  instead  of 
leveling  all  salaries,  more  classes  of  salaries  should  obtain,  graduated  to  the 
work  and  qualifications  required  of  the  teacher  and  that  promotion  to  the  higher 
classes  should  be  somewhat  competitive  in  character." — A  Chicago  Principal. 

(31)  In  the  desire  to  secure  a  competent  teaching  force,  it  should  not  be  for- 
gotten that  there  is  danger  of  enforcing  unnecessary  limitations.  Experience  has 
shown  that  too  frequent  examinations  are  rather  an  impediment  than  a  help,  since 
they  turn  the  attention  of  the  teacher  from  his  regular  work,  and  thus  lessen  his 
efficiency.  Once  admitted  to  the  profession  with  proofs  of  scholarship  and  special 
training  and  after  a  term  of  probation,  the  teacher  should,  as  already  recom- 
mended, receive  a  permanent  certificate.  Any  additional  examinations  or  tests 
required  should  be  made  of  those  only  who  apply  for  promotion  to  positions  for 
which  much  higher  qualifications  are  required. 


75 


SECTION.  7- THAT   THE.  PRESENT    SCHEDULE   OF   THE    SALARIES   OF   THE 

CITY  UNDER  RECENT  CHANGES  BE  RECOGNIZED  AS  NOT  PROPERLY  PRO- 
PORTIONED TO  THE  VARIOUS  POSITIONS  IN  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM, 
AS  PROVIDING  IN  MANY  GROUPS  SALARIES  SO  HIGH  THAT  THE  EFFI- 
CIENCY OF  THE  SCHOOLS  IN  OTHER  PARTICULARS  CANNOT  UNDER  THE 
LIMITATIONS  OF  THE  LAW  GOVERNING  THE  TAX  LEVY,  BE  ADEQUATELY 
SECURED,  AND  AS  LIABLE,  THEREFORE,  TO  CAUSE  EITHER  FINANCIAL 
EMBARRASSMENT  TO  THE  BOARD  OR  SUDDEN  AND  PREJUDICIAL 
RETRENCHMENT,  UNLESS  THE  SCHEDULE  BE  READJUSTED  AT  AN  EARLY 
TIME. 

The  delicate  nature  of  this  question  has  already  been  intimated.  A 
study  of  the  salaries  now  paid  in  Chicago  and  a  comparison  with  those  of 
other  cities  of  approximately  the  same  size,  justify  the  statement  that  the 
board  of  education  has  not  carefully  proportioned  the  pay  of  various  posi- 
tions^32) Your  commission  is  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  teach- 
er's work  and  the  necessity  of  making  this  profession  attractive  both  to  men 
and  to  women  of  ability,  training,  and  experience.  We  are,  however,  fully 
persuaded  that  public  interests  demand  a  more  systematic  treatment  of  the 
question  of  salaries,  and  we  believe  that  in  the  long  run  the  teachers  them- 
selves will  be  benefited  if  the  salaries  are  placed  on  a  more  rational  basis.  (33) 
Therefore,  we  recommend  that  after  a  thorough  examination  of  existing 
conditions  the  schedule  of  salaries  be  revised  with  the  purpose  of  adjust- 
ing each  salary  to  the  responsibility  of  the  position,  to  the  proved  efficiency 
and  length  of  service  of  the  teacher  and  to  the  total  of  the  salary  schedule 
of  the  city.(34) 

SECTION    8. THAT  A   SCHEDULE  OF  SALARIES  BE  ADOPTED   WHICH   WILL 

RECOGNIZE  DISTINCTIONS  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  GRADE  OR  SUBJECT  IN 
WHICH  THE  TEACHER  GIVES  INSTRUCTION,  THE  TERM  OF  SERVICE  OF 
THE  TEACHER,  THE  SUCCESS  ALREADY  ACHIEVED,  AND  WELL  PROVED 
ADVANCE  IN   SCHOLARSHIP  AND  TEACHING  ABILITY. 

The  board  of  education  has  ignored  in  its  recent  changes  an  important 
principle  in  the  adjustment  of  salaries.     The  wholesale  leveling  of  salaries 

(32)  For  discussion  of  salary  question,  see  Appendix  A. 

(33)  "I  believe  there  should  be  some  gradation  of  salaries  with  reference  to 
the  longer  hours,  the  more  laborious  preparation,  and  the  more  scholarly  ability 
in  upper  grades.  This  is  not  saying  that  little  children  do  not  require  the  best 
teachers,  but  as  most  of  our  schools  are  organized,  the  primary  teacher  does  not 
have,  in  respect  to  discipline  and  required  study,  the  strain  imposed  upon  teachers 
in  the  higher  grades." — 5".  T.  Dittton,  Superintendent,  Brookline  (Mass.) 

(34)  See  section  8  of  this  article. 

76 


throughout  the  elementary  schools,  so  that  the  only  basis  of  discrimination 
is  length  of  service,  sacrifices  another  effective  means  of  raising  the  pro- 
fessional standard.  (35)  Your  commission  believes  in  employing  for  each 
grade  of  the  elementary  schools  the  best  teachers  available,  but  it  is  not  at 
all  clear  that  the  teachers  of  each  grade  are  entitled  to  the  same  pay.  Some 
grades,  notably  the  first  and  second,  demand  the  possession  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher  of  qualifications  not  to  be  found  in  the  majority  of  those  giving 
instruction.  In  other  grades,  particularly  in  the  seventh  and  eighth,  a  more 
liberal  education,  wider  reading,  and  more  general  knowledge  are  needed, 
and  greater  care  is  necessary  in  preparation  for  recitations,  as  well  as 
more  labor  in  carrying  out  the  course  of  study.  It  is  a  matter  of 
frequent  complaint  that,  with  equal  salaries  for  all  grades,  teachers  are 
not  inclined  to  make  the  extra  effort  in  preparation  and  to  perform  the 

(35)  "The  present  schedule  is  based  upon  the  trade  union  principle  of  equal 
compensation  for  varying  degrees  of  efficiency.  Such  is  calculated  to  encourage 
poor  work  and  to  discourage  special  ability.  The  only  thing  taken  into  considera- 
tion is  length  of  service,  and  the  higher  salaries  are  reached  automatically  by  the 
simple  process  of  remaining  continuously  at  work  for  a  given  number  of  years. 
It  ought  not  to  be  difficult  to  devise  a  better  system  than  this.  To  make  promo- 
tions depend  upon  examinations  would  probably  be  inadvisable,  because  examina- 
tions throw  very  little  light  upon  teaching  efficiency,  but  they  might  well  be  made 
to  depend  on  the  recommendation  of  the  principals,  superintendents  and  other 
school  officers  having  opportunities  for  observation  of  the  teachers  at  work. 
These  are  the  persons  who  really  know  the  relative  abilities  of  teachers,  and  their 
knowledge  might  most  usefully  be  brought  to  bear  upon  promotions." — A  Chi- 
cago High  School  Principal. 

"We  believe  that  the  present  tendency  toward  leveling  the  salaries  of  all 
teachers  regardless  of  the  duties  required  of  them,  and  of  the  educational  qualifi- 
cations requisite  to  a  proper  discharge  of  these  duties,  is  wrong.  We  recommend 
that  the  salaries  paid  teachers  depend  on;  first,  length  of  time  of  service,  and 
second,  the  grade  or  group  of  grades  taught.  We  would  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that  a  higher  grade  of  scholarship  is  required  to  teach  the  upper  grades  than 
the  lower.  More  work  outside  of  school  hours  is  required,  and  the  government 
of  these  is  more  difficult.  This  condition  holds  true  from  the  first  grade  to  the 
twelfth,  and  we  believe  that  salaries  should  be  modified  accordingly,  perhaps 
making  an  exception  of  the  teacher  who  is  kept  in  first  grade,  because  she  can 
start  the  pupils  right,  as  against  one  who  remains  in  first  grade  because  she  is 
unable  to  teach  second.  Teachers  of  upper  grammar  grades  need  a  broad  knowl- 
edge of  American  and  foreign  history,  literature,  science,  algebra,  geometry, 
latin,  music  and  art,  not  needed  by  teachers  of  lower  grades.  To  get  this  knowl- 
edge, she  is  obliged  to  spend  more  time  and  money  in  study,  and  we  believe  that 
this  ought  to  increase  her  pay.  We  believe  that  promotions  to  higher  grades 
with  increased  pay  ought  to  be  somewhat  competitive  in  character."— The  George 
Howland  Club. 

77 


additional  labor  incident  to  the  more  advanced  instruction  of  the  elemen- 
tary schools.  Primary  teachers  fully  qualified  for  work  in  the  upper 
grades,  often  refuse  advancement  to  the  sixth,  seventh  or  eighth,  and  it 
is  frequently  difficult  to  secure  good  talent  for  the  higher  classes.  This  is 
in  itself  an  argument  for  relatively  higher  salaries  in  these  positions.  (36) 
The  salary  question  is  so  involved  that  it  is  properly  a  subject  for 
determination  by  experts,  but  your  commission  has  no  hesitation  in  ex- 
pressing its  belief  in  the  validity  of  the  distinction  here  made.  Salaries 
should  be  apportioned  not  merely  on  the  basis  of  the  length  of  service, 
but  also  on  a  basis  of  the  relative  difficulty  of  the  instruction  in  the  different 
grades,  and  most  certainly  on  the  degree  of  efficiency  already  shown  by 
the  teacher (37),  and  on  evidence  shown  of  increased  scholarship. 

SECTION  9. THAT  ALL  SUITABLE  MEANS  BE  USED  TO  PUT  A  LARGER  PRO- 
PORTION OF  MEN  TEACHERS  IN  THE  HIGHER  GRADES  OF  THE  ELEMENT- 
ARY SCHOOLS,  AS  POSITIONS  THEREIN  MAY  HEREAFTER  BECOME  VACANT  ; 
AND,  IF  IT  BE  FOUND  NECESSARY  TO  THE  SECURING  OF  THIS  END,  THAT 
HIGHER  SALARIES  BE  PROVIDED  FOR  MEN  THAN  FOR  WOMEN  IN  THESFi 
GRADES.  (38) 

The  need  of  more  men  in  public  school  work  is  universally  recognized, 
and  is  far  more  pressing  in  Chicago  than  in  the  other  large  cities  of  the 

(36)  "The  result  of  the  present  system  is,  that  many  teachers,  fully  capable  of 
taking  a  higher  grade,  ask  for  a  lower  primary,  in  which  there  is  the  smallest  de- 
mand°for  scholarship,  and  less  need  of  preparatory  work.  The  laudable  ambition 
to  advance  from  grade  to  grade  is  dulled,  the  teacher  ceases  her  effort  and  her 
study  for  higher  positions:  our  work  is  crippled,  the  incitement  to  progress  an- 
nihilated, and  our  schools  and  pupils  and  our  city  are  the  sufferers."— George 
Howland— Superintendents  Report  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1889. 

"I  recently  made  inquiries  among  the  primary  teachers  of  this  school  to  find 
out  if  any  was  willing  to  take  a  grammar  division  another  year  and  found  not  one 
willing,  while  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  several  of  our  grammar  teachers  who 
would  like  a  second  or  first  grade  division  if  an  opening  is  found.  There  has  not 
been  a  grammar  grade  vacancy  filled  by  a  primary  grade  teacher  in  this  school  for 
six  years,  but  each  time  such  a  place  is  to  be  filled  it  has  been  necessary  to  find 
a  teacher  from  outside  source."— .4  Chicago  Principal. 

(37)  "Each  school  board  shall  have  power  to  adopt  by-laws  fixing  the  salaries 
of  the  borough  and  the  assistant  superintendents,  of  principals,  and  branch  princi- 
pals and  of  all  other  members  of  the  supervising  and  teaching  staff,  and  such 
salaries  shall  be  regulated  by  merit,  by  the  grade  of  class  taught,  by  the  length 
of  service  or  bv  the  experience  in  teaching  of  the  incumbent  in  charge,  or  by 
such  a  combination  of  these  considerations  as  the  school  board  may  deem  proper." 
—Charter  of  the  City  of  New  York,  Section  1,091 

(38)  "One  of  the  divisions  of  this  subject  which  is  attracting  much  attention, 
provoking  much  discussion  and  bringing  into  view  a  startling  array  of  statistics, 
is  the  ratio  of  women  to  men  in  the  public  schools  of  the  United  States.  While 
this  discussion  pertains  with  special  significance  to  the  common  schools,  it  is  a 
factor  which  cannot  be  eliminated  in  the  solution  of  the  high  school  problem,  and 
enters  with  irritating  effect  into  our  reflections  as  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of 
those  credentials  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral,  which  the  welfare  of  our  sec- 
ondary schools  demand  of  every  teacher.     Go  where  you  will,  you  hear  it  said : 

78 


country.  (3D)  This  is  apparent  in  many  ways.  The  small  number  of  boys 
in  our  secondary  schools  as  compared,  for  example,  with  Boston,  is  a 
striking  and  almost  ominous  fact(40),  which  is  to  be  attributed  in  part  to 
the  predominance  of  women  teachers  in  the  elementary  schools.  Indeed, 
the  proportion  of  boys  to  girls  in  our  high  schools  is  actually  decreasing. 
This  indicates  that  to  a  certain  degree  the  public  school  system  is  not 
properly  fulfilling  its  function,  and  one  inevitable  result  will  be  the  loss 
of  public  sympathy  and  support.  Not  only  do  comparatively  few  boys 
enter  the  high  school,  but  large  numbers  leave  the  elementary  schools 
before  completing  the  work  of  the  eighth,  seventh,  or  even  sixth  grade. 
This  has  been  attributed  by  many  careful  observers  among  other  things  to 
the  small  and  decreasing  proportion  of  men  teachers. (41)     If  this  explana- 

'We  need  more  men,  but  we  cannot  afford  the  salaries  they  demand.  We  do  not 
blame  them  for  refusing  to  accept  our  small  stipend,  and  therefore  we  are  com- 
pelled to  employ  women.'  This  is  a  true  statement  and  as  sad  as  degenerating 
and  as  degrading  as  it  is  true." — Editorial,  in  School  Review,  March,  1896. 

(39)  "There  are  periods  in  the  school  life  of  a  boy  when  he  needs  contact  with 
the  rugged  and  forceful  personality  of  men  who  have  arrived  at  the  maturity  of 
their  powers.  There  is  no  reason  why  this  contact  should  be  reserved  for  the 
high  school  or  the  college.  Only  a  very  small  percentage  of  boys  reaches  the 
high  school,  and  a  still  smaller  proportion  receives  the  benefit  of  college  training. 
Even  in  the  high  schools,  the  number  of  male  instructors  grows  smaller  year  by 
year."— Editorial,  Chicago  Times-Herald,  July  19.  1S9S. 

"The  influence  exerted  on  the  minds  and  hearts  of  children  by  men  and  women 
teachers  may  be  equal  in  degree,  but  certainly  is  not  of  the  same  kind,  hence  the 
schools  need  both  in  more  equal  ratio  than  at  present.  Children  instinctively 
recognize  the  difference  in  the  sex  influence,  and  respond  to  it  accordingly.  I 
have  no  question  that  our  schools  are  to-day  suffering  for  a  lack  of  men  in  our 
teaching  force/'— D.  R.  Cameron,  Ex-President,  Chicago  Board  of  Education. 

"Since  my  connection  with  the  board  of  education  the  number  of  teachers  in 
Chicago  has  increased  from  about  seventeen  hundred  to  three  thousand.  At  all 
times  the  fair  sex  has  predominated  to  a  considerable  extent,  but  at  no  time  has 
this  been  so  apparent  as  during  the  last  few  years.  If  an  extra  effort  had  been 
made  to  drive  out  male  teachers  and  fill  their  places  by  women,  the  success  could 
not  have  been  better.  Whenever  a  male  principal  resigned  or  his  place  was  made 
vacant  for  some  reason,  it  was  filled  by  a  lady.  In  my  opinion  it  is  necessary  that 
the  more  sturdy  character  of  men  should  be  allowed  to  have  an  influence  upon 
our  growing  generation,  and  while  it  may  be  necessary  that  the  gentle  hand  of 
women  should  guide  and  lead  our  little  ones,  I  believe  that  the  more  firm  hand 
of  men  should  be  employed  in  teaching  the  older  ones  and  take  part  in  the  mould- 
ing and  shaping  of  their  character."— Louis  Nettclhorst,  President's  Report,  Chi- 
cago Board  of  Education,  1891. 

(40)  "Of  the  total  of  seven  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pupils  in  our 
high  schools  at  the  close  of  September,  1895,  there  were  one  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  seventy-four  boys  and  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-six 
girls,  or  26  per  cent  boys  and  74  per  cent  girls,  a  loss  of  5  per  cent  from  last  year, 
when  there  was  31  per  cent  boys  and  69  per  cent  girls."— A.  G.  Lane,  Superin- 
tendent's Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1S96. 

(41)  "The  gradual  disappearance  of  the  'old  school  master,'  whose  vigorous 
and  wholesome  personality  was  such  an  important  factor  in  the  development  of 

79 


tion  be  well  founded,  and  we  believe  it  is.  the  necessity  of  attracting  more 
men  to  the  teaching  body  is  self-evident. 

Your  commission  would  not  be  understood  as  arguing  against  the 
employment  of  women  in  the  teaching  force.  We  recognize  the  value  of 
their  work  and  believe  that  in  many  grades  of  our  elementary  schools  from 
the  kindergarten  up,  a  woman  teacher  is,  other  things  being  equal,  to  be 
preferred  to  a  man.  We  hold,  however,  distinctly,  that  neither  sex  should 
greatly  predominate,  if  the  most  symmetrical  results  are  to  be  obtained, 
and  we  believe  that  the  patrons  and  warm  supporters  of  our  public  schools, 
men  and  women  alike,  unite  in  a  desire  for  the  employment  of  more  men 
teachers.  How  these  can  be  secured  is  not  easy  to  point  out.  If  it  is  true, 
as  has  been  openly  stated,  however,  that  in  our  elementary  schools  of  two 
applicants  equally  competent  a  woman  stands  a  better  chance  of  appoint- 
ment than  a  man,  the  need  of  a  change  in  our  policy  is  obvious  enough. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  men  are  rare  in  the  teaching  body  because  sufficient 
pay  is  not  offered  to  attract  such  as  are  competent,  then  the  salaries  of 
men  should  be  advanced  to  the  point  at  which  they  can  be  secured. 

The  paying  of  higher  salaries  to  men  than  to  women  of  the  same  ability 
and  training  is  not  an  unjust  discrimination.  The  superior  physical  en- 
durance of  a  man  makes  him,  relatively  speaking,  more  valuable  in  the 
school  system.  Moreover,  this  question  is  a  plain  case  of  supply  and 
demand,  and  the  experience  of  our  American  cities  clearly  indicates  the 
necessity  of  paying  larger  salaries  for  men,  if  a  fair  proportion  of  them 
is  to  be  brought  into  the  teaching  body.  The  public  will  not  begrudge  the 
additional  expense  necessary  to  infuse  this  much  needed  element  into  the 
school  system.  Your  commission  is  inclined  to  believe,  also,  that  much 
can  be  accomplished  in  this  direction  simply  by  the  adoption  of  a  rational 
plan  of  promotion  by  which  the  prospect  of  regular  advance  from  the 
lower  positions  will  be  held  out  to  those  best  prepared  for  the  teacher's 
work  and  most  zealous  in  the  performance  of  their  duties.  Young  men 
of  college  education  and  high  professional  attainments  can,  we  believe,  be 
thus  attracted  even  to  the  elementary  grades. 

SECTION    10. THAT     THE     RECOMMENDATION    OF    THE    PRINCIPAL    AND 

THE  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENT  BE  ACCEPTED  AS  SUFFICIENT  REASON 
FOR  CHANGE  OF  ASSIGNMENT  BY  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  A  TEACHER 
ON  THE  GROUND  OF  INEFFICIENCY. 

character  and  individuality  in  young  men,  is  certainly  an  element  of  weakness  in 
our  modern  school  system." — Editorial,  Chicago  Times-Herald.  July  19,  1898. 

80 


SECTION    II. THAT   AFTER   TWO    SUCH    CHANGES    IN    ASSIGNMENT,    AND 

UPON  THE  RECOMMENDATION  FOR  A  THIRD  CHANGE  BY  THE  PRIN- 
CIPAL AND  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENT,  THE  TEACHER  SHALL  BE 
RETIRED  FROM  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM  OF  THE  CITY  BY  THE  SUPERINTEND- 
ENT, UNLESS  HIS  ACTION  BE  DISAPPROVED  BY  A  MAJORITY  VOTE  OF 
ALL  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  BOARD  NOT  LATER  THAN  THE  SECOND 
MEETING    AFTER    THE    REPORT    IS    MADE    THERETO. 

Just  as  it  rests  with  the  superintendent  to  make  promotions  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  principal  and  the  respective  assistant,  so  on  the  same 
authority  and  after  proper  test  of  the  teacher  under  different  conditions 
the  latter  should  be  retired  from  the  service  if  adjudged  incompetent. (42) 
All  arguments  that  have  been  advanced  to  concentrate  in  the  super- 
intendent the  responsibility  for  the  educational  system  of  the  city,  apply 
with  equal  force  to  this  portion  of  his  duties.  With  proper  care  in  guard- 
ing admissions  \o  the  teaching  body,  and  with  careful  supervision  of  the 
work,  the  necessity  for  such  action  should  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  At 
the  same  time,  when  occasion  does  arise,  this  power  should  be  firmly  used 
by  the  superintendent,  and  his  decision  should  be  final,  with  the  restriction 
of  being  subject  to  disapproval  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  members  of 
the  board. 

(42)  "The  superintendent  shall  have  the  power  to  dismiss  any  teacher  when 
her  work  is  deficient  or  her  discipline  unsatisfactory,  the  same  to  be  certified  to 
by  the  principal  of  the  school,  the  district  superintendent  and  a  majority  of  the 
board  of  superintendents.  All  appointments  under  a  partial  certificate  shall  be 
temporary  and  whenever  a  teacher  is  rendering  unsatisfactory  service  the  super- 
intendent shall  have  the  power  to  dismiss  such  teacher  upon  the  recommendation 
of  the  principal  of  the  school,  and  the  district  superintendent,  provided  such 
teacher  has  had  at  least  two  trials.  All  recommendations  shall  be  in  writing." — 
A  Chicago  Superintendent. 


<Tt)r  iilrmmtan,) 


ARTICLE   V 


In  respect  to  the  elementary  schools,  your  Commission  respectfully 
recommends : 

SECTION  I. — THAT  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  GIVE  CAREFUL  CONSIDERA- 
TION TO  THE  GENERAL  COMPLAINT  OF  THE  LOSS  OF  TIME  AND  WASTE 
OF  EFFORT  IN  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  DUE  TO  THE  NEEDLESS 
REPETITION  OF  SUBJECTS  IN  DIFFERENT  GRADES,  AND  TO  A  CONSEQUENT 
TOSS  OF  INTELLECTUAL  POWER  IN  THE  CHILD,  WHICH  RESULTS  FROM 
SPENDING  EIGHT  YEARS  ON  A  COURSE  OF  STUDY  THAT  MIGHT  FAIRLY, 
IN   MANY  CASES,   BE   COVERED   IN   LESS  THAN    SEVEN  ; 

SECTION  2. — THAT  IN  CONSIDERATION  OF  THE  ABOVE,  THE  SUPERINTEND- 
ENT AND  HIS  ASSISTANTS  BE  INSTRUCTED  CAREFULLY  TO  CONSIDER 
AND  TO  REVISE  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY  OF  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  IN 
ORDER  THAT  THE  WORK  OF  EACH  GRADE  MAY  BE  SIMPLER,  MORE  PRO- 
GRESSIVE AND  BETTER  UNIFIED;  THAT  THE  WORK  OF  THE  DIFFERENT 
GRADES,  ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  EIGHTH  AND  NINTH,  I.  E.,  THE  FIRST  YEAR 
OF  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL,  MAY  BE  MORE  CLOSELY  CORRELATED  AND  RE- 
ARRANGED, WITH  DUE  REFERENCE  TO  THE  SPECIAL  STUDIES  INTRODUCED 
IN  RECENT  YEARS  ;  AND  PARTICULARLY  TO  THE  GRADUAL  INTRODUCTION, 
ELSEWHERE  RECOMMENDED,  OF  SOME  FORM  OF  CONSTRUCTIVE  WORK 
IN  EACH  GRADE  OF  ALL  SCHOOLS  ; 

SECTION  3. — THAT  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY  BE  SO  READJUSTED  AS  READILY 
TO  PERMIT  OF  AT  LEAST  SEMI-ANNUAL  PROMOTION  FROM  GRADE  TO 
GRADE ; 

SECTION    4. THAT  A  KINDERGARTEN,  OPEN  TO  CHILDREN  FROM  FOUR  TO 

SIX  YEARS  OF  AGE,  BE  ESTABLISHED  AS  SOON  AS  POSSIBLE  IN  CONNEC- 
TION WITH  EACH  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MORE  THICKLY  POPULATED  DISTRICTS 
OF  THE  CITY,  AND  ULTIMATELY  IN  EVERY  SCHOOL. 

The  suggestions  which  your  commission  ventures  to  make  in  regard  to 
the  course  of  study  of  the  elementary  schools,  should  not  be  construed  as 
indicating  that  this  city  is  inferior  to  other  large  communities  in  its  system 
of  public  instruction.     On  the  contrary,  many  of  the  difficulties  here  por- 

S2 


trayed  are  the  direct  result  of  an  earnest,  progressive  spirit  and  of  a  desire 
to  give  the  children  of  Chicago  the  best  education  that  can  be  furnished  at 
public  expense.  The  city  deserves  great  praise  for  its  generous  support 
of  public  schools,  and  those  who  have  directed  the  educational  system  have 
acted  wisely  in  infusing  from  time  to  time  new  studies  into  the  programme. 
This  has  led,  however,  to  an  overcrowding  of  the  course,  which  is  a  source 
of  temporary  embarrassment  to  both  pupils  and  teachers,  and  undoubtedly 
the  present  situation  demands  careful  consideration. 

The  deeper  questions  of  method  of  instruction,  your  commission  has 
not  felt  competent  to  treat.  Improvement  in  this  direction  has  been  con- 
stant and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  line  of  progress  at  present 
is  sound  and  will  be  maintained.  We  feel,  indeed,  reluctance  in  attempt- 
ing any  review  of  the  course  of  study.  The  responsibility  for  this  is  divided 
between  the  board  of  education  and  the  superintendent  of  schools.  The 
board  of  education,  acting  for  the  people  and  according  to  their  desires, 
has  the  authority  to  determine  what  shall  be  taught  in  the  public  schools ; 
furthermore,  it  alone  allots  the  amounts  of  money  to  be  spent  in  the  different 
divisions  of  the  system.  Within  the  lines  laid  down  by  the  board,  the 
superintendent  should  have  the  initiative  in  suggesting  the  number  of 
teachers  necessary  for  instruction  in  different  subjects  and  the  determina- 
tion of  all  methods  to  be  employed ;  on  him  and  his  assistants  the  construc- 
tion of  the  course  of  study  falls.  The  recommendations  here  made  do  not 
affect,  except  in  the  question  of  kindergartens,  the  duties  of  the  board. 
The  reason  for  making  them  lies  in  the  apparent  neglect  by  the  force  of 
supervision  to  work  out  a  coherent  and  unified  plan  of  instruction — due, 
we  believe,  in  large  measure  to  the  excessive  requirements  heretofore  made 
of  the  superintendent  and  his  assistants  in  purely  clerical  work.  If  they 
were  freed  to  a  considerable  extent  from  duties  which  might  well  be  as- 
signed to  clerks,  they  would  have  more  time  and  energy  to  devote  to 
thorough  supervision  of  their  respective  districts  and  to  the  larger  problems 
of  municipal  education. 

One  of  these  problems  is  the  course  of  study  which,  more  than  any  other 
question  that  has  been  brought  to  our  attention,  is  a  matter  for  considera- 
tion and  determination  by  experts.  Only  men  who  with  a  liberal  educa- 
tion and  careful  training  unite  wide  experience  and  thoughtful  study  of 
what  the  public  demands  from  the  elementary  schools  and  of  what  it  is 
possible  to  give  in  them,  can  speak  with  final  authority  on  this  topic.  We 
have  noted,  however,  what  seems  to  be  a  very  general  situation  in  school 
affairs  and  also  tendencies  that  are  manifest  in  the  school  systems  of  many 
cities. 

S3 


The  fact  that  first  attracts  notice,  when  we  consider  the  present  status 
in  Chicago,  is  the  great  improvement  in  our  public  schools  in  recent 
years  which  has  made  it  possible  to  accomplish  more  within  a  given  period 
than  was  formerly  the  case.  This  improvement  is  marked  with  respect  to 
the  teachers  themselves,  who,  through  a  broader  education  and  a  sounder 
training  are  better  fitted  to  give  instruction,  and  who  by  a  more  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  powers  of  children (x)  and  through  better  methods,  have 
considerably  shortened  the  time  needed  to  accomplish  certain  definite  edu- 
cational results  in  their  work.  Another  movement  tending  in  the  same 
direction,  is  the  equipment  of  school  rooms  with  various  appliances  that 
have  largely  facilitated  elementary  as  well  as  secondary  instruction  in  our 
larger  cities.  The  benefits,  however,  which  might  accrue  from  this  improve- 
ment of  educational  conditions,  have  not,  we  think,  been  fully  realized. 
As  much  space  is  given  now  as  formerly  in  the  course  of  study  to  many 
subjects  which,  due  to  the  changes  just  mentioned,  it  would  be  possible 
to  teach  adequately  in  a  considerably  shorter  time.(2)     The  waste  of  effort 

(!)  No  element  in  the  preparation  of  the  teacher  has  been  more  strongly  in- 
sisted upon  in  recent  years  than  the  importance  of  child  study.  In  this  particular, 
the  normal  schools  of  our  country  are  following  the  example  of  continental 
schools  and  are  working  out  with  marked  results  the  ideas  of  leading  education- 
ists. Chicago  is  fortunate  in  the  possession  of  a  normal  school,  in  which  the 
importance  of  this  work  has  been  fully  appreciated,  and  in  which  careful  train- 
ing has  been  given  in  this  line. 

"Modern  educational  thought  emphasizes  the  opinion  that  the  child,  not  the 
subject  of  study,  is  the  guide  to  the  teacher's  efforts.  To  know  the  child  is  of 
paramount  importance.  How  to  know  the  child  must  be  an  important  item  of 
instruction  to  the  teacher  in  training.  The  child  must  be  studied  as  to  his  physi- 
cal, mental  and  moral  condition.  Is  he  in  good  health?  Are  his  senses  of  sight 
and  hearing  normal,  or  in  what  degree  abnormal?  What  is  his  tempera- 
ment? Which  of  his  faculties  seem  weak  or  dormant.  Is  he  eye-minded  or  ear- 
minded?  What  are  his  powers  of  attention?  How  far  is  his  normal  nature 
developed,  and  what  are  his  tendencies?  By  what  tests  can  the  degree  of  differ- 
ence between  bright  and  dull  children  be  estimated?  To  study  effectively  and 
observingly  these  and  similar  questions  respecting  children  is  a  high  art.  No 
common  sense  power  of  discerning  human  nature  is  sufficient;  though  common 
sense  and  sympathy  go  a  long  way  in  that  study.  Weighing,  measuring,  elaborate 
investigation  requiring  apparatus  and  laboratory  methods  are  for  experts,  not 
teachers  in  training.  Above  all.  it  must  ever  be  remembered  that  the  child  is  to 
be  studied  as  a  personality  and  not  as  an  object  to  he  weighed  and  analyzed." — 
Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  <<. 

(2)  "I  turn  to  the  desirable  reduction  in  the  volume  and  variety  of  the  present 
studies.  The  firsl  reduction  should,  I  believe,  be  made  in  arithmetic.  I  find  that 
it  is  very  common  in  programme^  of  tin'  course  to  allot  to  arithmetic  from  one- 
eighth  to  one-sixth  of  the  whole  school  time  for  nine  or  ten  years.  A  small  book 
ordinarily  contains  all  the  arithmetic  that  anybody  needs  to  know,  indeed  much 
more  than  most  of  us  ever  use.  On  grounds  of  utility,  geometry  and  physics  have 
Stronger  claims  than  any  part  of  arithmetic  beyond  the  elements,  and  for  mental 
training  they  are  also  to  he  preferred.  By  the  contraction  of  arithmetic,  room  is 
made  for  algebra  and  geometry.  Moreover,  the  attainments  of  the  pupil  in 
arithmetic  are  not  diminished  by  the  introduction  of  the  new  studies,  hut   rather 

S4 


involved  in  the  needless  repetition  of  subjects  in  different  grades,  is  not 
the  only  evil  to  be  met.  For  a  child  to  go  over  and  over  again  the  same 
portions  of  arithmetic (3)  and  geography,  even  from  a  considerably  modi- 
fied point  of  view,  is  not  only  a  loss  of  time  and  effort,  but  also  a  distinct 
detriment  to  his  interest  and  intellectual  power.  The  course  of  study  could 
be  revised  to  advantage  by  a  reduction  in  the  amount  of  time  assigned  to 
different  subjects.  To  this  end  the  work  in  different  grades  should  be 
simplified  with  proper  care  for  natural  and  progressive  sequence,  and 
greater  unity  should  be  secured  among  the  subjects  of  instruction.  This 
is  especially  necessary  at  the  present  time.  Even  before  it  became  evident 
that  more  work  could  be  done  within  the  school  life  of  the  child,  there  was 
a  tendency  to  enlarge  the  course. (4)  New  studies  have  been  successively 
introduced  in  order  to  develop  and  train  the  child  in  many  directions  not 
hitherto  attempted.  The  charge  has  been  made  that  these  changes  have 
resulted  from  the  increased  requirements  on  the  part  of  higher  institutions, 
and  have  led  to  pushing  down  into  the  elementary  schools  subjects  that 
have  hitherto  been  reserved  for  the  secondary.     The  natural  inference  is 

increased.  The  algebraic  way  of  solving  a  problem  is  often  more  intelligent  than 
the  arithmetical,  and  mensuration  is  easier  when  founded  on  a  good  knowledge 
of  geometry  than  it  is  with  a  lack  of  that  foundation.  The  three  subjects  to- 
gether are  vastly  more  interesting  than  arithmetic,  pursued  through  nine  consecu- 
tive years.  In  many  schools  the  subject  of  grammar  still  fills  too  large  a  place 
on  the  programme,  although  great  improvement  has  taken  place  in  the  treatment 
of  this  abstruse  subject  which  is  so  unsuitable  for  children.  Geography  is  now 
taught  chiefly  as  a  memory  study  from  books  and  flat  atlases,  and  much  time  is 
given  to  committing  to  memory  masses  of  facts  which  cannot  be  retained  and 
which  are  of  little  value  if  retained.  By  grouping  physical  geography  with 
natural  history,  and  political  gepgraphy  with  history,  and  by  providing  proper 
apparatus  for  teaching  geography,  time  can  be  saved,  and  yet  a  place  made  for 
much  new  and  interesting  geographical  instruction." — Charles  W.  Eliot,  Presi- 
dent Harvard  University,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1892,  p.  617. 

(3)  "Your  committee  believes  that  with  the  right  methods  and  a  wise  use  of 
time  in  preparing  the  arithmetic  lesson  in  and  out  of  school  five  years  are 
sufficient  for  the  study  of  mere  arithmetic — the  five  years  beginning  with  the 
second  school  year  and  ending  with  the  close  of  the  sixth  year;  and  that  the 
seventh  year  should  be  given  to  the  algebraic  method  of  dealing  with  those 
problems  that  involve  difficulties  in  the  transformation  of  quantitative  indirect 
functions   into  numerical   or  direct  quantitative  data." — Committee   of  Fifteen, 

P-  39- 

"The  sifting  of  the  course  of  study  in  grades  is  greatly  to  be  encouraged.  I 
believe  that  arithmetic  takes  too  much  time  by  one-third.  Better  work  in  less 
time." — D.  L.  Kiehle,  University  of  Minnesota. 

(4)  It  matters  very  little  to  us  what  was  the  origin  of  the  common  school ;  it 
sprang  up  from  the  needs  of  the  age,  and  was  suited  to  the  wants  of  society,  but 
the  furnishing  of  the  intelligent  citizen  of  to-day  for  his  private  and  public  duties 
is  very  different  from  that  of  his  ancestor  two  and  a  half  centuries  ago  ;  and  the 
scope  of  the  common  school  has  broadened  into  that  of  the  public  school,  upon 
whose  wise  and  successful  development  depends  so  largely  the  hope,  the  welfare 
and  the  perpetuity  of  our  institutions,  our  government,  our  nation." — George 
Howland,  Superintendents  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1889. 

85 


that  these  subjects  have  in  some  instances  no  proper  place  in  the  elementary 
course.  Your  commission,  however,  while  recognizing-  a  degree  of  truth 
in  the  first  statement,  believes  that  the  broadening  of  the  common  school 
work  has  come  more  largely  from  a  better  appreciation  of  the  educational 
opportunity  afforded  in  the  first  years  of  the  child's  life,  and  a  determina- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  public  to  make  the  training  offered  as  rich  and  fruit- 
ful as  possible.  The  extension  of  the  course  of  study  has  been,  we  believe, 
along  proper  lines  in  the  introduction  of  many  branches. (5)  So  far,  how- 
ever, this  extension  has  not  been  accompanied  by  any  adequate  recognition 
of  the  necessity  of  connecting  these  new  subjects  with  those  formerly 
included  in  the  course ;  and  in  the  Chicago  schools  to-day  we  do  not  find 
that  essential  unity  which  can  be  secured  by  a  thorough  and,  if  necessary, 
wholesale  revision  of  the  course. 

Not  only  is  this  unity  lacking  in  the  different  grades,  but  there  is  a  notable 
break  in  sequence  between  the  grades. (6)     This  condition  has  been  partly 

(5)  Algebra,  for  example,  properly  taught,  is  recognized  as  a  suitable  subject 
for  the  seventh  and  eighth  grade,  at  the  same  time  supplementing  the  earlier 
work  in  arithmetic,  and  affording  a  very  good  substitute  for  some  of  the  higher 
and  more  technical  instruction  in  the  latter  study. 

"The  proposed  seventh-grade  algebra  must  use  letters  for  the  unknown 
quantities  and  retain  the  numerical  form  of  the  known  quantities,  using  letters 
for  these  very  rarely,  except  to  exhibit  the  general  form  of  solution,  or  what,  if 
stated  in  words,  becomes  a  so-called  'rule'  in  arithmetic.  This  species  of  algebra 
has  the  character  of  an  introduction  or  transitional  step  to  algebra  proper.  The 
proposition  of  your  committee  is  intended  to  remedy  the  two  evils  already 
named :  First,  to  aid  the  pupils  in  the  elementary  school  to  solve  by  a  higher 
method  the  more  difficult  problems  that  now  find  place  in  advanced  arithmetic ; 
and,  secondly,  to  prepare  the  pupil  for  a  thorough  course  in  pure  algebra  in  the 
secondary  school." — Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  40. 

(6)  "Nothing  is  more  desirable  than  to  try  to  get  rid  of  the  gulf  that  has 
often  separated  the  high  school  and  the  elementary  school.  In  many  cases  it  has 
amounted  to  a  caste  feeling  which  has  prevented  teachers  above  and  below  from 
any  helpful  co-operation.  In  numerous  instances  the  teachers  of  grammar  and 
high  schools  never  meet  for  conference.  Permit  me  to  say  that  both  in  New 
Haven  and  here  in  Brookline  I  have  always  had  regular  monthly  meetings,  in 
which  teachers  of  all  grades  have  come  together  and  considered  questions  of 
general  interest,  of  which  there  are  so  many.  In  Brookline,  where  the  number 
of  teachers  has  permitted  it,  we  have  had  very  free  and  informal  discussions. 
These  have  helped  bring  out  a  unity  of  feeling  and  plan  which  has  been  marked 
in  our  work.  Heads  of  departments  and  teachers  generally  have  been  encour- 
aged to  visit  not  only  other  schools  of  their  own  grades  but  those  above  and 
below,  and  many  other  means  have  been  employed  to  bring  about  co-operation. 
We  have  found  it  very  helpful  in  securing  continuity  through  the  grades  to  give 
teachers  in  the  high  schools  a  sort  of  supervision  over  special  subjects  in  the 
grades  below ;  for  example,  our  teacher  of  art,  domestic  science,  sewing,  physics, 
chemistry,  physical  culture  and  biology  in  the  high  school  had  had  the  supervision 
in  these  subjects  in  the  grades  below,  and  have  usually  met  the  teachers  in 

86 


the  result  of  introducing  many  new  subjects  without  fully  considering  the 
place  that  each  should  fill  in  the  school  course,  noticeably  in  the  case  of 
nature  study.  It  is  true  also  of  the  instruction  in  manual  training,  which 
has  been  added  within  the  last  two  years.  From  the  evidence  presented 
to  your  commission,  we  are  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  instead  of  these 
studies  being  an  additional  element  of  unity  in  the  school  programme,  as 
they  should  be,  the  introduction  of  them  has  tended  rather  toward  dis- 
organization. (7)  The  mistake  here  suggested  has  led  to  the  additional 
difficulty  of  overcrowding  to  a  considerable  extent  the  course  of  study, 
thus  causing  what  seems  undue  criticism  of  those  branches,  for  we  are 
thoroughly  convinced  that,  properly  connected  with  the  rest  of  the  course, 
they  will  facilitate  at  the  same  time  that  they  enrich  elementary  instruc- 
tion.^) 

groups  once  a  month.  They  have  in  most  cases  been  able  to  see  something  of 
the  work  actually  done.  This  is  not  only  in  the  interest  of  economy  but  it  knits 
together  the  high  school  and  the  lower  schools  closely  and  gives  intelligence  and 
unity  to  the  whole  system." — 5".  T.  Button,  Superintendent,  Brookline,  Mass. 

(7)  "We  should  set  about  a  reorganization  of  our  whole  school  curriculum, 
and  by  a  carefully  devised  plan,  secure  the  orderly  progress  of  the  child's  culture 
from  the  kindergarten  age  through  an  elementary  course  suited  to  his  expanding 
mental  and  bodily  powers,  and  then  through  a  course  of  scientific  education — not 
distinct  from  but  supplementary  to  the  former — until  as  a  high  school  graduate, 
he  should  possess,  as  far  as  nature  has  endowed  him  and  opportunity  favored,  a 
general  preparation  for  the  duties  of  life.  In  such  a  course,  manual  training 
should  enter  at  the  proper  time,  and  proceed  through  an  elementary,  if  not 
through  a  scientific  stage,  to  the  end  that  a  trained  hand  may  accompany  a 
disciplined  intellect." — Ray  Greene  Huling,  in  Education,  September,  1883. 

(8)  The  course  of  study  has  not  yet  been  broadened  to  correspond  fully  to 
expert  demand. 

"In  my  judgment  the  schools  of  this  city  are  in  a  deplorable  condition  of  dry 
rot,  owing  to  the  extreme  poverty  of  subject  matter  offered  by  the  curriculum. 
The  absolutely  fundamental  thing  in  education,  especially  early  education,  if  it 
is  to  lay  a  firm  foundation  for  scholarship  and  power,  is  that  the  pupil  shall  be 
brought  into  actual  contact  with  material  things,  vast  in  amount  and  rich  in 
variety.  As  a  corollary  to  this  proposition,  it  may  be  assumed  that,  to  this  end, 
the  resources  of  the  pupil's  immediate  environment  should  be  drained  to  their 
utmost. 

"The  published  'Outline  of  Course  of  Study'  now  provided  for  the  schools 
is  absolutely  colorless  as  regards  the  rich  and  educative  environment  of  the 
pupils.  Its  lusterless  character  would  unfit  it  for  a  school  situated  in  the  most 
meager  surroundings ;  but  for  our  children  and  our  teachers,  environed  by  strong 
influences  that  converge  upon  us  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  it  is  unusually 
uninteresting  and  repellant.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  if  the  children  knew  beforehand 
what  it  contains  for  them— or  rather  what  it  lacks — the  truant  list,  already  large, 
would  be  enormously  increased.  If  our  schools  are  to  retain  their  hold  upon  the 
pupils,  and  if  they  are  to  enlist  the  most  enlightened  efforts  of  the  teachers,  the 

87 


One  of  the  most  difficult  questions  in  the  administration  of  common 
schools  relates  to  the  promotion  of  pupils.  The  careful  grading  which  is 
feasible  in  large  cities,  and  which  has  increased  the  possibilities  of  instruc- 
tion, has  a  tendency  to  become  too  iron-clad  to  make  sufficient  allowance 
for  varying  degrees  of  capacity  and  industry  in  pupils. (9)      It  is  manifestly 

course  of  study  must  strongly  reflect  the  strength  and  inspiration  of  our  present 
life. 

"Among  the  recommendations  that  I  should  like  to  urge  are  the  following : 

"i.  That  the  course  of  study  shall  be  revised  annually  in  order  to  embody  as 
far  as  possible  all  that  the  growth  of  the  city,  the  expansion  of  our  school 
system,  and  the  development  of  our  teachers  may  require. 

"No  instruction  to-day  pretends  to  be  governed  by  a  fixed  formula.  A  course 
of  study  one  year  old  is  an  anachronism.  An  intelligent  teacher  will  revise  to 
shreds  and  tatters  within  a  year  the  best  course  of  study  ever  devised.  I  protest 
against  the  dead  type  that  now  stands  as  a  shield  to  the  poor  teacher  and  a 
barrier  to  the  good  one. 

"2.  That  the  preparation  of  the  course  of  study  shall  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
superintendent,  his  assistants  and  a  representative  committee  of  teachers, 
appointed  by  the  superintendent.  The  work  of  the  committee  shall  be  conducted 
through  sub-committees,  each  reporting  to  the  entire  committee  at  least  three 
times  a  year  upon  the  course  for  the  following  year. 

"3.  That  the  committee  through  its  sub-committees  shall  make  an  exhaustive 
study  of  the  city  and  its  surroundings  from  the  standpoint  of  educative  material, 
and  arrange  the  results  under  the  heads :  Natural.  Scientific,  Industrial.  Com- 
mercial and  Cultural.  From  these  central  and  initial  points  of  interest  and 
experience  the  course  of  study  should  direct  the  investigation  of  the  teachers  and 
the  studies  of  the  pupils  outward  in  every  direction  into  the  domains  of  human 
activity,  both  present  and  past. 

"4.  That  definite  provisions  be  made  whereby  teachers  may  visit  with  their 
pupils  within  regular  school  hours,  all  the  public  institutions  and  private  enter- 
prises that  may  be  accessible  that  will  furnish  material  for  study.  To  this  end. 
the  committee  on  'Course  of  Study'  should  develop  as  rapidly  as  possible  a  system 
of  manuals  embodying  hints  to  the  teachers  and  notes  on  the  important  features 
of  the  places  visited.  These  manuals  should  be  working  educational  guides  to 
the  art  galleries,  public  libraries,  great  manufacturing  establishments,  wholesale 
houses,  public  parks,  museums,  and  the  natural  features  of  the  city  and  its 
vicinity." — Wilbur  S.  Jackman,  Chicago  Normal  School. 

(9)  "At  points  in  the  course  of  study  tests  should  be  applied  which  shall 
determine  the  status  of  the  pupil — first  as  to  his  mastery  of  the  topics  passed 
over — and  secondly,  as  to  his  relative  standing  with  others  of  his  class.  These 
tests  must  be  solely  in  the  interest  of  the  pupil  and  never  for  the  benefit  of  the 
teacher.  Properly  applied,  they  furnish  the  pupil  with  knowledge  of  his  present 
acquirements,  and  serve  as  a  stimulus  in  future  acquisition.  They  should  not 
be  of  regular  occurrence,  at  stated  intervals,  but  at  any  time  when  the  good  of 
the  pupil  seems  to  demand  them,  either  for  information  as  to  his  present  standing 
or  for  spur  to  his  ambition.  They  may  touch  but  a  single  topic,  as  in  weekly  or 
monthly  reviews,  or  they  may  embrace  the  whole  range  of  topics  as  in  examina- 
tions  for  promotion    from   grade   to  grade.     The   examinations   for  promotions 

88 


wrong-  that  children  failing-  to  carry  one  study  of  a  given  grade  should  be 
retarded  to  the  extent  of  a  full  year  in  their  promotion  to  the  next.(10) 
Much  consideration  has  been  given  to  this  matter  in  the  Chicago  schools, 
and  considerable  latitude  has  been  allowed  the  principals  and  the  teachers. 
In  many  cases  children  have  been  permitted  to  advance  at  the  discretion  of 
the  principal,  and  this  has  been  to  a  degree  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the 
difficulty.  (n)      The  suggestion,  however,  has  been  made  to  your  corn- 
should  differ  from  reviews  only  in  the  extent  of  the  review  and  in  the  number 
of  topics  reviewed.     No  subject  has  attracted  more  attention  during  the  last  two 
years  than  that  of  gradation  of  schools.     It  is  claimed  that  the  graded  system 
cripples  the  advancement  of  pupils  in  that  it  prescribes  a  uniform  rate  of  progress 
for  pupils  of  different  degrees  of  ability,  and  determines  this  uniform  rate  by  the 
ability  of  those  who  possess  the  least  mental  activity.     It  is  further  claimed  that 
it  deprives  the  pupils  of  the  best  labors  of  their  teachers,  since  the  teachers  are 
not  at  liberty  to  use  their  individuality,  but  must  work  after  some  uniform  plan 
prescribed  by  some  higher  authority.     Still  further  it  is  claimed  that  the  graded 
system  demands  certain   Procrustian  tests  in  order  to  secure  advancement." — 
/.  L.  Pickard,  Superintendent's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1875. 

(10)  "One  must  go  over  the  entire  year's  course  because  he  is  poor  in  algebra. 
Another  failed  in  Latin,  etc.  Scholarship  does  not  make  the  man.  Enrich  our 
course  of  instruction  as  much  as  possible,  and  give  each  pupil  an  opportunity  to 
take  out  of  it  according  to  his  capacity." — A  Chicago  Principal. 

(U)  This  plan  was  formerly  followed  in  Chicago  to  a  much  greater  extent 
and  with  conspicuous  success.  The  conditions  offered  at  that  time  by  a  smaller 
school  system  may  have  rendered  it  more  feasible.  It  is,  however,  strongly 
urged  to-day  by  leading  educational  authorities.  The  following  quotation  indi- 
cates the  method  of  its  application  in  Chicago  more  than  twenty  years  ago : 

"To  those  who  wonder  how  we  can  promote  by  classes  or  by  grades  at  any 
time  in  the  year,  and  without  regard  to  promotions  in  grades  above,  it  is  sufficient 
to  say  that  our  room  limits  have  no  relation  whatever  to  grade  limits.  The 
pressure  for  room  is  always  from  below,  while  withdrawals  from  school  are 
almost  invariably  from  above.  Thus  frequent  opportunity  is  given  for  transfer 
upward,  but  it  is  not  at  all  essential  to  promotion  from  grade  to  grade  that  such 
opportunity  for  transfer  be  available.  It  sometimes  occurs  that  the  teacher  of  a 
room  carries  her  pupil  through  two  grades  before  an  opportunity  for  transfer 
comes.  Sometimes  the  pressure  from  below  for  vacant  space  above  takes  away 
the  pupils  of  a  teacher  before  half  the  work  of  a  grade  is  completed.  Transfers 
from  room  to  room  are  made  when  vacancies  occur.  Promotions  from  grade  to 
grade  in  study  are  made  when  the  pupils  have  completed  the  work  of  their  grade. 
And  right  here  comes  the  criticism :  'This  course  must  involve  frequent  change 
of  teachers.'  In  exceptional  cases  it  is  true,  but  the  exceptions  are  found  in  the 
lowest  grades  from  which  pupils  are  passed  upward  to  make  room  for  the 
crowd  of  applicants  below.  Even  in  these  cases  the  chances  are  about  equal  that 
the  transfer  will  be  from  a  poorer  to  a  better  teacher,  and  in  cases  where  equal 
ability  exists,  the  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  child  that  he  is  promoted  is  an 
incentive  to  greater  effort.  But  in  the  main,  change  of  teachers  under  this 
flexible  system  is  no  more  frequent  than  under  the  system  of  uniform  time  for 
promotion,  with  a  single  exception  to  be  noticed  hereafter.  The  time  required 
to  pass  through  any  grade  is  for  the  average  pupil  a  constant  quantity — six 
months,  eight  months,  or  ten  months.  The  time  the  pupil  spends  with  the  teacher 
is  the  same,  whether  the  grade  be  entered  in.  September  or  in  November,  or 
March.  The  time  of  promotion  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  length  of 
time  the  pupil  remains  under  the  same  teacher.  In  the  course  of  eight  years, 
about   the   time   required   to   complete   our   primary 'and   grammar   courses,   ten 

89 


mission,  and  we  arc  inclined  to  look  upon  it  with  favor,  that  the  course  of 
study  be  arranged  so  as  to  permit  of  at  least  semi-annual  promotion. 

In  the  recommendation  which  is  made  in  regard  to  the  establishment  of 
additional  kindergartens,  your  commission  believes  that  it  is  acting  in 
accord  not  only  with  the  general  tendency  in  American  cities,  but  also  with 
the  evident  needs  of  the  public  school  situation  in  Chicago,  and  with  the 
hearty  concurrence  of  all  those  associated  in  any  capacity  with  our  school 
system.  (12) 

In  line  with  what  has  been  set  forth,  your  commission  recommends : 

changes  are  probable.  The  number  of  changes  is  the  same  whether  the  changes 
be  made  at  the  beginning,  in  the  middle,  or  at  any  other  time  of  the  school  year. 
In  the  extreme  case  of  annual  promotion,  changes  are  made  as  often  as  promotion 
occurs,  which  is  once  each  year  and  at  a  fixed  time.  No  provision  is  made  for 
exceptionally  bright  classes,  or  exceptionally  excellent  teachers,  making  it 
possible  to  pass  a  grade  in  less  than  a  prescribed  time.  Right  here  the  flexible 
system  has  decided  advantage,  and  this  is  the  exception  alluded  to  above.  Many 
instances  have  occurred  in  our  schools  of  the  passing  of  whole  classes  through 
two  grades  in  the  time  allotted  to  the  completion  of  one.  Many  individual 
instances  may  be  cited  of  pupils  who  have  completed  three  grades  in  the  time 
allotted  to  one — without  injury  to  themselves  and  with  profit  to  the  classes 
through  which  they  have  passed.  Within  the  limits  of  a  course  of  study  requir- 
ing eight  years  for  its  completion  by  the  average  pupil,  we  have  twenty-eight 
classes  varying  in  distance  from  one  month  or  two  months  in  the  very  lowest 
grade,  to  three  months  or  five  months  in  the  highest  grades.  Pupils  failing  in 
promotion  when  examined  with  the  highest  class  in  a  grade,  fall  back  in  their 
course  but  a  little  time,  since  the  class  into  which  they  drop  is  but  a  short  time  in 
the  rear.  With  the  knowledge  of  this  fact  before  the  examiner,  he  is  not  tempted 
to  put  forward  those  poorly  prepared,  as  he  might  in  sympathy  do,  if  the  interval 
was  a  year  or  even  six  months.  The  good  of  the  individual  pupil  may  be  best 
subserved  by  a  little  more  thorough  preparation.  The  discouragement  to  those 
who  fail  is  far  less  when  the  hope  of  another  trial  is  not  long  deferred.  A  pupil 
absent  for  a  month  or  two  on  account  of  sickness  finds  a  class  at  the  point  reached 
by  his  class  at  the  time  of  leaving.  He  is  not  subjected  to  the  mortification  of 
going  back  several  months  in  his  work,  nor  under  the  necessity  of  overtaxing 
his  strength  that  he  may  make  up  lost  studies.  The  steps  from  class  to  class  are 
so  easily  taken  that  many  pupils  are  encouraged  to  try  for  more  rapid  advance- 
ment than  they  would  think  of  attempting  if  the  work  of  six  months  or  a  year 
must  be  anticipated.  The  advantages  of  gradation  and  classification  are  too 
apparent  to  need  further  discussion — and  such  flexibility  as  prevails  in  our 
system  and  the  system  of  St.  Louis,  which  is  nearly  allied  to  ours,  certainly 
reduces  to  a  minimum  the  danger  of  injury  to  individual  pupils." — /.  L.  Pickard, 
Superintendent's  Report,  Chieago  Board  of  Education,  1875. 

(12)  The  school  law  of  Illinois  should  be  revised  to  permit  boards  of 
education  to  establish  kindergartens,  without  requiring,  at  least  in  large  cities, 
a  popular  vote  on  the  question. 

"We  endorse  the  kindergarten  and  recommend  its  more  general  introduc- 
tion, but  believe  there  should  be  two  lessons  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  hours 
each,  held  daily  under  the  same  teachers  with  different  pupils,  the  teachers  being 
placed  on  the  same  salary  as  the  primary  teachers." — The  George  Howland  Club. 

'"The  kindergarten  should  be  part  of  the  school  system." — Ella  F.  Young  Club. 


90 


SECTION  I. THAT  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  GIVE  CAREFUL  CONSIDERA- 
TION TO  THE  GENERAL  COMPLAINT  OF  THE  LOSS  OF  TIME  AND  WASTE 
OF  EFFORT  IN  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  DUE  TO  THE  NEEDLESS  REPE- 
TITION OF  SUBJECTS  IN  DIFFERENT  GRADES,  AND  TO  A  CONSEQUENT  LOSS 
OF  INTELLECTUAL  POWER  IN  THE  CHILD,  WHICH  RESULTS  FROM  SPEND- 
ING EIGHT  YEARS  ON  A  COURSE  OF  STUDY  THAT  MIGHT  FAIRLY,  IN  MANY 
CASES,  BE  COVERED  IN  LESS  THAN  SEVEN  ; 

That  the  course  of  study  can  be  rearranged  in  accordance  with  these 
recommendations  is  vouched  for  by  those  best  acquainted  with  the  Chicago 
schools.  Your  commission  does  not  feel  that  it  comes  within  the  scope 
of  its  report  to  specify  very  definitely  how  this  revision  may  best  be  made, 
but  we  have  reason  to  conclude  from  the  testimony  of  the  superintendents 
and  the  principals  alike,  that  it  will  affect  especially  the  teaching  of  arith- 
metic and  geography,  as  well  as  instruction  in  nature  study,  penmanship 
and  grammar.  (13) 

Since  this  revision  looks  principally  to  the  rearranging  of  studies  (14) 
already  sanctioned  by  the  board  of  education,  the  work  naturally  devolves 
upon  the  supervising  force  alone,  and  accordingly  we  suggest : 

(13)  "A  majority  of  your  committee  are  of  the  opinion  that  formal  English 
grammar  should  be  discontinued  in  the  eighth  year,  and  the  study  of  some  foreign 
language,  preferably  that  of  Latin,  substituted.  The  educational  effect  on  an 
English-speaking  pupil  of  taking  up  a  language  which,  like  Latin,  uses  inflec- 
tions instead  of  prepositions,  and  which  further  differs  from  English  by  the 
order  in  which  its  words  are  arranged  in  the  sentence  is  quite  marked,  and  a 
year  of  Latin  places  a  pupil  by  a  wide  interval  out  of  the  range  of  the  pupil 
who  has  continued  English  grammar  without  taking  up  Latin.  But  the  effect 
of  the  year's  study  of  Latin  increases  the  youth's  power  of  appreciation  in 
very  many  directions  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  so  much  of  the  English  vocabulary 
used  in  technical  vocabularies,  like  those  of  geography,  grammar,  history  and 
literature,  is  from  a  Latin  source,  and  besides  there  are  so  many  traces  in  the 
form  and  substance  of  human  learning  of  the  hundreds  of  years  when  Latin 
was  the  only  tongue  in  which  observation  and  reflection  could  be  expressed." — 
Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  55. 

(14)  Minor  criticism  could  easily  be  made  in  the  course  of  study  of  the 
elementary  schools.  To  mention  one  instance,  the  teaching  of  English  history 
by  means  of  the  same  text-book  later  employed  in  the  high  schools  seems  a 
flagrant  violation  of  educational  principles,  more  particularly  as  the  text  is 
generally  considered  difficult  for  the  latter  pupils  and  as  having  a  proper  place 
only  in  college  instruction.  It  has  been  hinted  in  this  connection  that  some 
publishing  houses  have  attempted  to  bring  undue  pressure  to  bear  on  the  board 
of  education  for  the  retention  of  books  once  placed  on  the  list.  The  recom- 
mendation already  made,  that  to  the  superintendent  be  assigned  the  choice  of 
text-books,  should  obviate  this  difficulty. 


SECTION  2. THAT  IN  CONSIDERATION  OF  THE  ABOVE,  THE  SUPERINTEND- 

ENT  AND  HIS  ASSISTANTS  BE  INSTRUCTED  CAREFULLY  TO  CONSIDER 
AND  TO  REVISE  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY  OF  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  IN 
ORDER  THAT  THE  WORK  OF  EACH  GRADE  MAY  BE  SIMPLER,  MORE  PRO- 
GRESSIVE AND  BETTER  UNIFIED;  THAT  THE  WORK  OF  THE  DIFFERENT 
GRADES,  ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  EIGHTH  AND  NINTH,  /'.  C,  THE  FIRST  YEAR 
OF  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL,  MAY  BE  MORE  CLOSELY  CORRELATED  AND  RE- 
ARRANGED, WITH  DUE  REFERENCE  TO  THE  SPECIAL  STUDIES  INTRODUCED 
IN  RECENT  YEARS  |  AND  PARTICULARLY  TO  THE  GRADUAL  INTRODUCTION, 
ELSEWHERE  RECOMMENDED,  OF  SOME  FORM  OF  CONSTRUCTIVE  WORK 
IN  EACH  GRADE  OF  ALL  SCHOOLS  J 

The  revision  here  suggested  should  affect  especially  the  eighth  and  ninth 
grades.  There  is  a  sharp  differentiation  between  the  last  year  of  the 
elementary  school  and  the  first  year  of  the  high  school,  and  on  this  account 
the  elementary  schools  are  in  a  measure  isolated  in  fact  and  rendered  dis- 
tinct and  separate  in  public  opinion.  This  break  in  sequence  is  one  reason 
why  more  pupils  do  not  go  from  the  eighth  to  the  ninth  grade,  and  explains 
in  part  the  large  percentage  of  failures  among  the  pupils  in  the  first  year 
of  the  high  school.  This  percentage,  varying  from  [5  to  30  per  cent,  is 
unduly  large  and  would  be  reduced,  we  think,  if  the  departmental  plan  of 
instruction  now  common  in  the  high  school  were  extended,  as  elsewhere 
recommended,  to  the  upper  grades  of  the  elementary  schools.  In  this 
way  the  pupils  would  become  accustomed  to  working  under  a  number  of 
teachers,  and  would  not  be  hampered  by  the  abrupt  change  of  subjects  and 
methods  which  now  marks  their  entrance  to  the  secondary  schools.  The 
chasm  between  the  eighth  and  ninth  grades  has  been  already  partially 
bridged  by  the  introduction  in  recent  years  into  the  eighth  and  even  the 

,  seventh  grade,  of  studies  heretofore  only  taught  in  the  high  schools.  Latin 
and  algebra  have  their  justification  in  elementary  schools  on  their  own 

'  merits,  apart  from  the  advantage  which  this  preparation  affords  for  more 
advanced  work.  At  the  same  time,  the  teaching  of  these  and  some  other 
subjects  has  made  the  transition  from  the  eighth  grade  to  the  high  school 
a  much  easier  one^/' 

In  regard  to  the  unification  of  the  course  of  study,  already  referred 
to  as  essential,  we  would  suggest  further  the  importance  of  systematizing 
the  instruction  in  manual  training  or  "constructive  work,"  which  is  recom- 
mended later.  This  should,  we  believe,  be  made  one  of  the  fundamental 
principles  in  elementary  school  work(15),  and  the  ease  with  which  it  may 
(15)  "The  arts,  both  the  aesthetic  and  the  industrial,  have  a  recognized  value 
in  the  education  of  children.     They  should,  however,  be  incorporated  in  a  course 

92 


be  made  to  co-ordinate  the  instruction  in  different  grades  will   further 
facilitate  the  desired  sequence  in  the  course  of  study.  (16) 

SECTION    3. THAT  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY  RE  SO  READJUSTED  AS  READILY 

TO  PERMIT  OF  AT  LEAST  SEMI-ANNUAL  PROMOTIONS  FROM  GRADE  TO 
GRADE.  (17) 

The  testimony  of  thoughtful  educators  is  by  no  means  unanimously  in 
favor  of  the  semi-annual  promotion  of  pupils  from  grade  to  grade,  and 
your  commission  feels  some  hesitancy  in  making  this  suggestion.  Those 
who  have  argued  most  effectively  against  this  plan,  however,  recognize  it 
as  a  step  toward  greater  freedom  in  the  school  program  and  appreciate 
the  advantage  of  the  quicker  advance  which  it  affords  the  particularly  bright 
or  studious  pupil.  (18)  Their  objection  is  that  the  remedy  proposed  is  not 
adequate,  and  they  favor,  instead,  the  freest  promotion  of  pupils  by  the 
principals.  (19)     The  two  plans  do  not  seem  to  your  commission  essentially 

of  study,  not  be  tacked  on  to  a  course  filled  to  repletion.  The  aesthetic  arts, 
under  the  name  of  drawing,  have  become  a  constituent  part  of  the  Chicago 
course  in  elementary  schools.  The  industrial  arts,  under  the  heads  manual 
training  and  domestic  arts,  are  tacked  on  at  the  two  ends  of  the  same  course, 
i.  e.,  in  the  kindergarten  and  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades.  The  use  of 
the  word  'tacked'  is  explained  by  this  statement:  The  course  of  study  is  the 
same  for  schools  not  having  a  kindergarten  or  a  manual  training  class  or  a 
cooking  class,  that  it  is-  for  schools  having  all  of  the  three.  No  change  has 
been  made  in  the  course,  on  account  of  the  almost  general  introduction  of 
manual  training  into  the  upper  grades.  So  manual  training  is  an  addition  to 
the  old  course." — A  Chicago  Superintendent. 

(16)  In  the  city  of  Washington  (D.  C.)  the  "constructive  work"  idea  has 
been  admirably  developed  as  an  underlying  principle  of  the  course  of  study  and 
the  curriculum  has  a  unity  which  is  hardly  to  be  found  in  that  of  the  elementary 
schools  in  any  other  large  city.  Similar  results  have  been  secured  in  the  Jewish 
Training  School  of  Chicago. 

(17)  "Two  admissions  a  year,  one  in  September  and  one  in  February,  would 
assist  in  holding  pupils  in  the  high  school."— Ella  F.  Young  Club. 

(18)  "The  great  fault  with  the  public  school  system,  as  I  see  it,  is  the  retarda- 
tion of  bright  scholars."— William  L.  Dudley,  Vanderbilt  University. 

"Classes  should  be  arranged  with  reference  to  semi-annual  promotion  of 
pupils.  Shorter  or  longer  intervals  between  classes  are  fraught  with  serious 
objections  from  the  standpoint  of  the  child."—/.  H.  Phillips,  Superintendent 
Birmingham  (Ala.)  Schools. 

(19)  "The  advancement  of  pupils  from  one  grade  to  another  was  for  many 
years  determined  by  written  examination,  given  by  the  principal.  The  failure 
of  the  pupil  to  pass  it  caused  the  retention  of  the  pupil  in  the  grade  frequently 
six  months  or  a  year,  until  another  class  was  ready  for  promotion.     Review  and 

93 


opposed,  and  we  believe  that  with  semi-annual  promotion   the  problem  of 
advance  at  any  time  of  especially  qualified  children  will  be  much  simpli- 
fied^20)    One  objection  to  such  frequent  promotion  rests  in  the  diminished 
acquaintance  of  the  teacher  with  the  pupils,  and  perhaps  a  corresponding- 
repetition  became  wearisome  and  the  mental  growth  of  the  child  was  depressed 
and  dwarfed.     It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  superintendents  to  have  the  promo- 
tion made  from  grade  to  grade  upon  the  basis  of  the  knowledge  of  the  child's 
power  possessed  by  the  teacher  and  the  principal,  and  not  upon  any  special 
or  final   review  examination." — A.   G.  Lane,  Superintendent's  Report,   Chicago 
Board  of  Education. 

(20)  "The  question  of  promotion  of  pupils  has  occupied  from  time  to  time 
very  much  attention.  Your  committee  believes  that  in  many  systems  of  ele- 
mentary schools  there  is  one  injury  done  by  too  much  formality  in  ascertaining 
whether  the  pupils  of  a  given  class  have  completed  the  work  up  to  an  arbi- 
trarily fixed  point,  and  are  ready  to  take  up  the  next  apportionment  of  the 
work.  In  the  early  days  of  city  school  systems,  when  the  office  of  superin- 
tendent was  first  created,  it  was  thought  necessary  to  divide  up  the  graded 
course  of  study  into  years  of  work,  and  to  hold  stated  annual  examinations 
to  ascertain  how  many  pupils  could  be  promoted  to  the  next  grade  or  year's 
work.  All  that  failed  in  this  examination  were  set  back  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year's  work  to  spend  another  year  in  reviewing  it.  This  was  to  meet  the 
convenience  of  the  superintendent,  who.  it  was  said,  could  not  hold  examina- 
tions to  suit  the  wants  of  particular  individuals  or  classes.  From  this  arrange- 
ment there  naturally  resulted  a  great  deal  of  what  is  called  "marking  time." 
Pupils  who  had  nearly  completed  the  work  of  the  year  were  placed  with  pupils 
who  had  till  now  a  year's  interval  below  them.  Discouragement  and  demoraliza- 
tion at  the  thought  of  taking  up  again  a  course  of  lessons  learned  once  before 
caused  many  pupils  to  leave  school  prematurely.  This  evil  has  been  remedied 
in  nearly  one-half  of  the  cities  by  promoting  pupils  whenever  they  have  com- 
pleted the  work  of  a  grade.  The  constant  tendency  of  classification  to  become 
imperfect  by  reason  of  the  difference  in  the  rates  of  advancement  of  the  several 
pupils  owing  to  a  disparity  in  ages,  degree  of  maturity,  temperament  and  health, 
makes  frequent  re-classification  necessary.  This  is  easily _ accomplished  by  pro- 
moting the  few  pupils  who  distance  the  majority  of  their  classmates  into  the 
next  class  above,  separated  as  it  is,  or  ought  to  be,  by  an  interval  of  less  than 
half  a  year.  The  bright  pupils  thus  promoted  have  to  struggle  to  make  up  the 
ground  covered  in  the  interval  between  the  two  classes,  but  they  are  nearly 
always  able  to  accomplish  this,  and  generally  will  in  two  years'  time  need 
another  promotion  from  class  to  class. "—Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  79. 

"In  place  of  basing  the  promotion  of  pupils,  in  whole  or  in  part,  on  a  pro- 
motion examination,  it  is  determined  by  the  teacher's  careful  estimation  of  the 
pupil's  ability  to  do  advanced  work.  A  premium  is  put  upon  the  character  of 
the  work  done  day  by  day  rather  than  upon  the  amount  of  stuffing  which  can  be 
done  in  preparation  for  the  examination.  Thus  the  pupils  are  furnished  a  mod- 
erate and  continued  stimulus,  instead  of  an  excessive  and  spasmodic  one.  The 
promotion  examination  prevents  board  and  progressive  teaching,  makes  out  of 
the  teacher  a  'grind,'  and  turns  out  machine  pupils.  It  is  not  a  test  of  ability 
either  of  teachers  or  of  pupils.  It  is  great  temptation  to  deceit  and  causes 
many  mental  wrecks.  It  causes  the  loss  of  more  than  one-third  time  in  school. 
It  is  the  cause  of  the  attempted  uniformity  in  school  work  and  of  trying  to 
make  all  do  the  same  amount  of  work  in  the  same  time.  Therefore  it  shortens 
the  school  life  of  the  majority  and  menaces  the  intellectual  life  of  every  boy 
and  girl  in  the  graded  schools. 

"1'nder  this  plan  they  average  a  gain  of  about  the  same  amount  of  time. 
Therefore,  there  would  be  saved  an  average  of  about  four  years  for  each  pupil 
through  the  schools.     Thus  there  would  be  saved  to  the  district  what  it  would 


lessening  of  his  efficiency  with  them.  This  objection,  in  so  far  as  it  may 
apply  to  the  more  advanced  grades,  will  be  largely  obviated  with  the  further 
extension  of  the  departmental  plan  of  instruction  which  is  now  in  vogue  in 
many  schools  and  seems  likely  to  meet  hereafter  with  even  greater  favor. 

SECTION  4. — THAT  A  KINDERGARTEN  OPEN  TO  CHILDREN  FROM  FOUR  TO 
SIX  YEARS  OF  AGE  BE  ESTABLISHED  AS  SOON  AS  POSSIBLE  IN  CONNEC- 
TION WITH  EACH  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MORE  THICKLY  POPULATED  DISTRICTS 
OF  THE  CITY,  AND  ULTIMATELY  IN  EVERY  SCHOOL. 

The  arguments  for  kindergarten  instruction  are  sufficiently  known. (21) 
The  necessity  for  these  schools  in  large  cities  is  every  day  more  apparent, 
and  they  are  being  established  in  rapidly  increasing  numbers.  Chicago, 
for  many  reasons,  is  in  greater  need  of  kindergartens  than  any  other  city, 

cost  to  instruct  a  pupil  for  that  time,  or  about  $199.  When  this  is  multiplied 
by  the  number  of  pupils  attending,  the  financial  saving  becomes  material.  Add 
to  this  the  greater  saving  secured  by  the  lengthening  of  the  pupils'  productive 
lives,  and  the  financial  saving  is  more  than  doubled."— William  J.  Shearer,  Super- 
intendent Public  Schools,  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  in  Education,  April,  1898. 

(21)  For  a  fuller  consideration  of  the  kindergarten  and  its  function  in  the 
public  school  system,  see  Appendix  B. 

"The  kindergarten  has  not  yet  taken  the  place  in  our  public  school  system 
which  its  importance  demands.  It  is  a  matter  of  record,  made  after  a  careful 
study  of  results,  that  in  cities  the  kindergarten  children  do  better  in  entering 
school  than  those  who  have  not  received  such  training.  Work  is  the  true  spirit 
of  the  kindergarten  room  ;  idleness  and  listlessness  have  no  encouragement  there. 
Self-activity  is  the  keynote  to  every  exercise." — Editorial  in  American  School 
Board  Journal,  Easter  Edition,  1898. 

"The  kindergarten  ideal  is  the  ethical  individual — an  idea  that  is  just  begin- 
ning to  appear  on  the  educational  horizon  through  other  lines  of  thought.  As 
the  direction  whither  educational  thought  is  tending  is  recognized,  the  prophetic 
insight  of  the  founder  of  the  kindergarten  will  be  considered  a  necessary  part 
of  every  school.  The  organization  and  spread  of  the  kindergarten,  its  effect 
in  modifying  and  transforming  educational  thought  and  practice  during  the 
past  twenty-five  years,  is  one  of  the  great  facts  of  modern  educational  history." — 
Nina  C.  Vanderivalker,  in  Kindergarten  Magazine,  March,  1898. 

"The  general  introduction  of  the  kindergarten  into  public  schools  is  the 
greatest  step  in  pedagogy  that  has  ever  been  made  in  this  country.  It  is,  how- 
ever, fraught  with  dangers  both  to  the  kindergartens  and  the  other  schools, 
and  necessitates  considerable  modification  of  both.  The  kindergarten  must  not 
be  attached  to  the  public  school  as  a  new  and  distinct  department,  but  it  must 
be  co-ordained  with  them  in  a  vital  way.  This  means,  for  the  kinder- 
garten, broader  culture,  and  better  professional  training  for  the  kindergartner, 
a  more  general  spirit  of  co-operation  and  an  attempt  to  meet  real  rather  than 
imaginary  conditions;  a  broadening  of  the  course  and  a  gradual  modification 
of  the  tools  used;  a  better  training  for  citizenship  through  the  enlarged  com- 
prehension of  the  meaning  of  co-operation.  This  means,  for  the  other  schools,  the 
sweetening  and  mollifying  of  the  system  of  discipline,  through  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  kindergarten  spirit;  a  more  rational  and  careful  consideration  of 
individual  needs;  the  introduction  of  a  more  generous  and  altruistic  spirit 
into  the  schools;    a  training  for  citizenship  through  the  introduction  of  self- 

95 


with  the  possible  exception  of  New  York.  More  particularly  is  the 
demand  felt  in  the  thickly  populated  sections  of  the  city,  where  these 
schools  should  be  established  as  rapidly  as  possible.  It  is  hardly  within 
the  province  of  your  commission  to  suggest  the  best  method  to  be  followed 
in  this  matter,  but  there  appears  to  be  good  arguments  for  half  day  sessions 
only,  and  those  in  the  morning  hours. (22)  Under  special  conditions,  clue 
to  a  lack  of  school  accommodations,  it  might  appear  advisable  to  use  the 
kindergarten  rooms  both  morning  and  afternoon,  either  with  the  same  or 

government :  a  saving  of  time  in  the  instruction  in  fundamental  branches ;  the 
making  of  education  real  and  vital  instead  of  formal  and  unreal." — C.  B.  Gilbert, 
Superintendent  Public  Schools,  Newark,  N.  /.,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1897. 

"I  note  especially  the  recommendation  for  the  introduction  of  the  kinder- 
garten in  the  more  thickly  populated  districts  of  the  city,  and  ultimately  in 
every  school.  The  kindergarten,  however,  should  be  made  to  take  in  children 
who  are  four  years  old.  I  do  not  know  what  the  custom  is  in  Chicago,  but 
in  other  states  the  law  is  so  that  the  kindergarten  cannot  be  lawfully  opened 
to  children  under  five.  It  should  be  opened  in  Chicago  and  in  all  large  cities, 
especially  in  the  thickly  populated  districts,  for  all  children  who  are  four  years 
old." — Henry  Sabin,  Ex-State  Superintendent  Public  Instruction,  Des  Moines,  la. 

(22)  Chicago,  July  13.  1898 — To  the  Chicago  Educational  Commission — 
Gentlemen:  Knowing  it  is  your  intention  to  consider,  among  other  things,  that 
of  the  kindergarten  in  connection  with  the  public  school,  and  being  apprised 
of  the  fact  that  many  of  the  principals  have  discussed  and  even  recommended 
two  daily  sessions  of  kindergarten  in  our  public  schools,  we  beg  to  submit  the 
following  protest  from  the  Association  of  Chicago  Public  School  Kindergartners  : 

""The  kindergarten  teachers  of  the  Chicago  public  schools  do.  as  a  body, 
protest  against  two  daily  sessions  of  kindergarten,  for  the  following  reasons  : 

"First,  because  the  quality  of  the  work  would  necessarily  be  lowered. 

"Second,  because  the  vitality  of  little  children  is  much  lower  in  the  afternoon. 

"We  are  told  that  it  is  the  natural  life  of  the  kindergarten— the  creative, 
constructive,  developing  life — that  makes  it  valuable  in  education.  To  bring 
about  this  natural  life  in  the  school  room,  and  prepare  work  that  is  always  devel- 
oping, the  teacher  must  be  fresh  and  alive ;  she  must  have  time  to  grow  as  well 
as  recuperate,  for  the  younger  the  children  the  greater  the  demand  upon  her 
vitality.  And  we  all  know  only  too  well  how  the  teacher's  state  of  mind  and 
body  is  reflected  in  her  pupils. 

"Under  present  conditions  the  kindergartner  may  meet  the  demands  made 
upon  her;  she  may  visit  the  homes  and  hold  mothers'  meetings,  thus  helping 
to  establish  the  very  desirable  'closer  relation  of  home  and  school,'  for  the  fifty 
kindergarten  mothers  may  be  mothers  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred 
children  in  the  higher  grades. 

"Now,  two  daily  sessions  means  doubling  the  work  :  it  means  one  hundred 
instead  of  fifty  little  children  to  study  ;  it  also  means  that  the  teacher  will  be 
deprived  of  many  opportunities  for  the  necessary  growth,  preparation  and  the 
outside  work  that  makes  the  kindergarten,  as  it  stands  to-day.  a  firm  foundation 
for  all  that  is  to  follow.  It  would  necessarily  lower  the  quality  of  work  very 
much,  and  for  that  reason  we  trust  that  you  will  favorably  consider  our 
protest.  Very  respectfully, 

"Kindergarten  Committee, 

"Mary  M.  Blodgett,  Chairman." 


96 


different  teachers,  but  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  this  would  be  for  some 
reasons  undesirable,  and  that  it  would  lead  to  less  efficiency  in  the  schools. 
While  your  commission  is  unanimous  in  favoring  more  kindergartens,  we 
believe  that  great  skill  and  care  are  necessary  in  this,  as  in  many  other  lines 
of  school  work,  to  secure  a  maximum  of  results  with  the  funds  available 
for  the  purpose. 


JT1)f  ii)igf 
$  r  1)  o  o  1  s 


ARTICLE   VI 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends  in  regard  to  the  secondary 
schools  of  the  city  : 

SECTION    I. THAT   AN    EFFORT    BE    MADE    TO    CORRELATE    MORE    CLOSELY 

THE  WORK  OF  THE  HIGH  SCHOOLS  WITH  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 
ON  THE  ONE   HAND  AND  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  ON   THE  OTHER; 

SECTION  2. THAT  PROVISION  BE  MADE  FOR  A  LARGER  TEACHING  FORCE, 

IN  ORDER  THAT  THE  NUMBER  OF  PUPILS  IN  ANY  ONE  CLASS  NEED  NOT 
EXCEED  FORTY  J 

SECTION    3. THAT   THE   SESSION    OF   THE   HIGH    SCHOOL   BE    HELD   FROM 

NINE  TO  THREE,  WITH  A  RECESS  OF  THIRTY  MINUTES  J 

SECTION    4. THAT   A   LARGER    PROPORTION    OF    THE    TEACHERS   BE    MEX  ; 

AND  THAT  ALL  PROPER  MEANS  BE  EMPLOYED  TO  ATTRACT  MEN  TO  THESE 
POSITIONS  ; 

SECTION  5. THAT  A  COMMERCIAL  HIGH  SCHOOL,  WITH  A  FULL,  LIBERAL 

FOUR  YEARS'  COURSE  OF  STUDY,  BE  ESTABLISHED  IX  SOME  CENTRAL 
LOCATION  ; 

SECTION  6. THAT  TWO  ADDITIONAL    MANUAL  TRAIXING  HIGH   SCHOOLS 

BE  ESTABLISHED,  ONE  ON  THE  NORTH  SIDE  AND  ONE  OX  THE  SOUTH 
SIDE  OF  THE  CITY,  EACH  WITH  A  FOUR  YEARS'  COURSE  OPENED  TO  BOYS 
AND  GIRLS,  WITH  SPECIAL  OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  THE  LATTER  IN  STUDIES 
PERTAINING   TO  DOMESTIC   ECONOMY; 

SECTION  /. — THAT  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY  OF  THE  PRESENT  MANUAL 
TRAINING  HIGH  SCHOOL  OX  THE  WEST  SIDE  BE  CHANGED  TO  ACCORD 
WITH    THE   PROVISIONS   JUST    MENTIONED    FOR   THE    NEW    SCHOOLS. 


There  has  been  considerable  discussion  recently  in  Chicago  in  regard 
to  the  deficient  school  accommodations  of  the  city (x).  and  your  commis- 
sion has  noted  with  much  favor  a  growing  demand  on  the  part  of  the 

i-j  "I  hope  the  educational  authorities  will  continue  to  adjust  the  work  to 
the  needs  of  the  masses.  Handicapped  as  we  are  with  2,346  more  children  in 
rented  huildings  than   a  year  ago,   and   5.758  more  children  than  there   were  a 


people  that  every  child  of  school  age,  not  otherwise  provided  for,  should 
have  the  full  advantage  of  the  public  school  system.  This  is  a  very  en- 
couraging sign  for  the  future  of  the  Chicago  schools,  because  it  indicates 
a  public  interest  and  support,  without  which  the  schools  would  inevitably 
suffer.  In  the  discussion  of  this  question,  however,  comparisons  have 
been  introduced  between  the  elementary  and  the  secondary  schools,  and 
statements  made  in  regard  to  the  latter  which  your  commission  feels  are 
founded  on  an  inadequate  conception  of  the  function  of  our  public  high 
•schools.  In  this  stage  of  the  educational  history  of  the  city  there  is  little 
public  opposition  to  the  high  school  idea.  Our  secondary  schools  are  too 
firmly  established  in  public  esteem  ever  to  be  seriously  impaired  by  a  spirit 
of  retrenchment^2)  The  charge  has  been  made,  however,  that  the  present 
liberal  policy  toward  the  high  schools  interferes  with  the  proper  support  of 
the  elementary  schools,  and  thus,  in  a  measure,  the  two  have  been  brought 

year  ago  receiving  only  half-day  instruction,  it  devolves  upon  the  board  of  educa- 
tion to  proceed  with  all  possible  dispatch  to  meet  emergencies." — E.  C.  Halle, 
President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1898. 

"Some  people  say  that  Chicago  is  doing  as  well  for  its  children  as  any  other 
large  city,  but  that  is  no  excuse  for  neglect  here.  That  there  are  not  school  houses 
enough  in  other  cities  and  that  more  children  in  proportion  are  denied  fchooling 
or  put  off  with  a  half  day's  schooling  in  some  other  cities  is  neither  here  nor  there. 
In  New  iork,  for  instance,  it  is  said  that  there  are  30,000  children  tin  led  into 
the  streets  for  want  of  school  room.  But  the  papers  of  that  city  arc  making 
a  vigorous  campaign  for  more  room.  Some  of  them  have  editorials  about  it 
very  frequently.  They  say  that  the  chiiuren  must  get  the  best  training  money 
can  buy,  that  it  doesn't  pay  to  waste  genius  and  that  the  city  should  bring  out 
all  the  stuff  there  is  in  the  minds  of  its  citizens.  We  should  make  a  similar 
campaign  here." — E.  Benjamin  Andrews,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Chicago. 

(2)  M.  Buisson,  special  commissioner  from  the  French  government,  in  an 
official  report  detailing  the  results  of  his  observations  of  the  common  schools 
of  the  United  States,  thus  speaks  of  the  high  school :  "In  other  countries  it 
is  to  be  feared  that  the  children  of  different  classes  of  society,  although  they 
may  be  brought  together  for  a  time  in  the  public  school,  will  very  soon  be  found 
separated  as  widely  as  are  their  families  in  the  social  scale.  In  America  every- 
thing is  done  to  retard  and  reduce  the  degree  of  that  separation  by  carrying 
as  far  and  as  high  as  possible  the  common  instruction  which  effaces  all  dis- 
tinction between  the  rich  and  the  poor.  Thus  do  the  two  divisions  of  the 
public  school  system  render  the  state  diverse  but  equally  important  service. 
The  one  gives  to  it  an  entire  population  knowing  how  to  read  and  write ;  the 
other  draws  from  this  mass  a  select  few  whom  it  endows  with  an  intellectual 
capacity  sufficient  to  pay  a  hundred  times  its  cost.  How  is  this  selection  made?  By 
favor  of  public  liberality,  which  is  a  burden  to  none,  thousands  of  children— 
the  best,  the  most  gifted,  the  most  highly  educated,  the  best  fitted  for  labor,  the 
best  prepared  for  the  battle  of  life,  both  by  the  example  of  their  own  parents 
and  by  their  own  struggles — come  out  of  the  mass  of  the  poor,  perhaps  indigent, 
population,  where  otherwise  they  would  remain  undistinguished,  and  year  by 
year  infuse  new  life  into  the  middle  class.  If  it  be  true  that  the  prosperity  of 
a  republic  is  in  direct  ratio  to  the  renewal  of  these  middle  classes,  to  the 
abundance  and  facility  of  their  indefinite  recruiting,  then  the  high  school  of  the 
United  States,  whatever  it  may  cost,  is  the  very  best  investment  which  can  be 
made  of  national  capital." — Quoted  from  Education,  Vol.  .?.  page  163. 

99 


into  opposition.  This  seems  to  your  commission  both  deplorable  and  un- 
justifiable. Any  conception  that  considers  the  advantages  of  the  high  school 
limited  to  those  actually  pursuing  the  secondary  course  involves  an  entire 
misunderstanding  of  the  public  school  system  as  a  whole.  The  broader 
function  of  these  schools  may  be  seen  in  their  beneficial  effects  on  every  part 
of  the  school  system. (3)  There  is  hardly  a  more  pernicious  idea  in  edu- 
cation than  that  the  training  of  an  individual  is  finished  in  any  real  sense 
at  any  particular  stage.  The  man  or  woman  who  leaves  college  with  the 
feeling  that  on  obtaining  the  diploma  certain  lines  of  study  are  definitely 
closed,  has  surely  failed  to  reap  the  most  important  benefits  of  higher  edu- 
cation. Even  the  student  of  medicine,  or  law,  or  theology,  who,  at  the 
end  of  the  professional  training,  does  not  look  forward  to  continuous  and 
arduous  effort  towards  deepening  and  broadening  his  technical  knowledge, 
offers  little  promise  of  useful  activity  in  his  later  work.  This  statement 
is  equally  true  of  the  lower  schools.  The  boy  who  leaves  the  eighth  grade 
with  the  idea  that  in  book  knowledge  he  is  adequately  prepared  to  realize 
the  possibilities  of  life,  and  accordingly  feels  no  necessity  for  future  study 
in  any  field,  no  matter  what  his  work  may  be,  affords  the  saddest  possible 

(3)  "No  school  system  can  effectually  meet  the  object  of  its  creation  which 
does  not  embrace  in  its  constitution  provisions  for  carrying  the  education  of 
youth  beyond  the  common  branches.  With  one  hand  the  high  school  beckons 
the  pupil  of  the  elementary  schools  to  come  upward  to  its  more  elevated  outlook, 
and  with  the  other  it  points  its  own  students  to  the  still  higher  outlook.  Lack- 
ing the  high  school,  the  pupil  of  the  lower  schools  would  lose  a  chief  incentive 
to  exertion.  The  course  of  study,  too,  for  the  lower  schools  is  certain  to  feel 
the  influence  of  the  high  school.  This  course  is  too  often  afflicted  with  a  fearful 
leanness — built  on  the  principle  that  the  three  R's,  and  but  little  of  them,  are 
sufficient  to  meet  all  the  educational  needs  of  the  common  people.  But  perhaps 
the  influence  of  the  high  schools  upon  the  lower  schools  are  exerted  more 
powerfully  in  providing  for  them  a  class  of  teachers  of  a  higher  grade  of  quali- 
fications than  it  was  possible  to  secure  under  the  former  order  of  things.  No 
argument  is  needed  to  show  the  utter  vanity  of  all  schemes  of  public  educa- 
tion which  at  the  same  time  fail  to  place  a  competent  teacher  in  every  school. 
The  high  school  cannot  give  us  professionally  trained  teachers — the  supple- 
mentary work  of  the  normal  school  is  required  for  that— but  it  does  give  us 
teachers  whose  views  have  been  broadened  and  love  of  knowledge  deepened  by 
some  taste  of  liberal  culture.  And  this  higher  education  of  teachers  as  a  class 
renders  possible  the  successful  introduction  into  the  lower  schools— especially 
into  the  primary  departments — of  those  improved  methods  of  instruction  which 
have  lifted  teaching  from  something  less  than  an  empiric  art  to  the  level  of 
a  science,  and  are  doing  more  than  any  other  agency  to  make  knowledge  loved 
by  the  whole  people.  Without  the  character-training  and  the  resources  which 
come  to  our  teachers  from  a  high  school  education,  these  methods  would  prove 
an  utter  failure,  or  degenerate  into  a  mechanism  more  lifeless  than  the  worst 
mechanism  of  the  dreadful  past;  for  it  may  be  stated  as  an  educational  axiom 
that  intelligent  methods  can  be  applied  by  intelligent  teachers  only.  Machine 
methods  are  necessary  wherever  machine  teachers  are  found." — John  Hancock, 
in  Education,  November,  1882. 


commentary  on  our  elementary  schools. (4)  Yet  this  conception  'cu  edn.-i- 
tion,  met  with  even  now,  would  be  widely  prevalent  were  there  not  before 
the  child  the  idea  of  further  possibilities  concretely  represented  in  the 
secondary  schools.  If  our  school  system  included  only  the  grades  through 
which  the  majority  of  children  are  actually  able  to  pass,  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  maintain  in  these  the  same  earnest  spirit  and  desire  for  study. 
Your  commission  feels  deeply  impressed  with  the  influence  of  the  high 
schools  on  the  lower  grades,  even  in  the  case  of  the  large  majority  of 
children  who  are  not  able  to  enter  the  former,  and  is  assured  that  large 
expenditures  for  secondary  schools  would  be  fully  justified  without  any 
consideration  of  the  benefits  conferred  on  those  actually  attending  them. 
Moreover,  when  one  carefully  examines  the  history  of  the  high  schools 
in  a  large  city  and  looks  into  the  records  of  the  graduates,  it  seems  difficult 
to  overrate  the  beneficial  influence  of  these  schools  on  their  pupils.  The 
effect  of  a  high  school  training  on  the  average  boy  or  girl  is  to  increase 
marvelously  the  opportunities  for  a  life  of  successful  activity  and  whole- 
some enjoyment.  Every  year  of  the  high  school  course  satisfactorily  com- 
pleted, means  a  largely  increased  usefulness  to  the  community  and  a  much 
fuller  life  for  the  individual.  Men  well  acquainted  with  the  school  history 
of  Chicago,  experienced  in  affairs,  and  trained  observers,  have  frankly 
declared  their  opinion  that  one  high  school  graduate  will  do  more  for  the 
city  and  be  a  larger  factor  in  the  commercial,  industrial,  social  and  political 
life  of  the  community,  than  any  average  four  or  five  who  have  finished 
only  the  course  of  the  elementary  schools.  This  statement  should  justify 
a  generous  spirit  towards  the  higher  schools,  despite  the  greater  cost  for 
instruction  in  these  grades.  We  believe  that  the  establishment  and  sup- 
port of  public  high  schools  should  be  encouraged  for  either  one  of  the  two 
reasons  here  advanced. 

/4)  "In  all  this  grammar  school  work  there  should  be  a  looking  forward,  a 
reaching  up  to  the  advantages  and  privileges  of  the  high  school.  The  grammar 
teacher  should  ever  have  in  mind,  and  attractively  but  unobtrusively  present 
to  his  advanced  pupils,  the  benefits  of  the  high  school  course,  as  placing  them 
upon  a  higher  plane  of  intellectual  and  industrial  life,  as  making  this  life  bet- 
ter worth  the  living,  as  the  almost  'divine  event  to  which  the  whole  creation 
moves.'  There  should  be  a  very  intimate  understanding  between  the  principals 
of  the  grammar  and  high  schools ;  the  high  school  principal  should  know  what 
is  done,  what  has  been  done,  in  the  grammar  school  in  language,  in  grammar, 
in  history  and  composition;  and  the  grammar  school  principal  should  clearly 
understand  the  work  and  the  methods  of  the  high  school  and  lead  his  pupils 
to  feel  that  they  are  making  an  upward  step.  They  should  and  must  leave 
behind  many  of  their  earlier  modes  of  study  and  preparation,  and  step  forth 
more  free  and  untrammeled  into  some  of  the  higher  and  more  fruitful  fields  of 
learning." — George  Hoiuland,  Superintendent's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, 1889. 


,1/n.t  our^.ea'nuai  y  schools  are  fulfilling-  another  function  equally  im- 
portant and  far  more  direct  in  its  influence  upon  the  educational  system  of 
the  city.  While  the  high  school  stands  forth  as  the  concrete  ideal  of 
broader  training  to  the  great  mass  of  pupils,  and  while  it  puts  its  indelible 
stamp  on  hundreds  of  its  graduates  each  year,  it  furnishes  likewise  the 
only  safeguard  and  security  for  proper  teaching  in  the  lower  grades. 
Without  the  public  high  school  and  the  opportunities  thus  afforded  for  a 
more  liberal  education,  the  standard  of  teaching  in  the  elementary  schools, 
it  is  safe  to  say,  would  be  incomparably  inferior  to  that  which  we  enjoy 
to-day.  If  any  one  will  stop  to  compare  the  schools  of  to-day  with  those 
of  twenty-five  years  ago,  he  will  quickly  see  marked  results  which  have 
been  secured  through  successive  advances  during  the  last  two  decades  in 
the  requirements  made  of  those  desiring  to  enter  the  teaching  force  of  the 
city.  In  the  last  ten  years,  even,  the  efficiency  of  our  teachers  has  been 
greatly  increased.  In  this  advance  our  high  schools  have  played  a  most 
important  part.  For  the  sake  of  securing  properly  qualified  teachers,  so 
indispensable  to  the  elementary  schools,  it  is  necessary  for  the  city  to  offer 
the  widest  possible  opportunities  for  secondary  education,  and,  even  on 
this  ground  alone,  the  most  generous  provision  should  be  made  for  an 
adequate  number  of  properly  equipped  high  schools. 

Recognizing  the  above  considerations  as  the  most  important  reasons 
for  the  existence  of  the  high  school,  your  commission  would  not  fail  to 
call  attention  also  to  the  preparation  here  afforded  for  more  advanced  in- 
struction^5) Our  western  states  in  particular  have  profited  very  largely 
from  the  enlightened  policy  and  liberal-minded  generosity  of  the 
National  government  towards  education.  The  setting  aside  of  large 
sections  of  land  for  school  purposes  has  facilitated  the  establishment  by 

(5)  "First  principle— what  is  truly  best  for  the  people  is  best  for  the  school 
and  ultimately  best  for  higher  education.  The  converse  is  also  true.  Whatever 
is  best  for  higher  education  is  best  for  the  school,  and  ultimately  best  for  the 
people.  The  real  interest  of  the  common  school,  the  high  school,  and  the  uni- 
versity, the  academy  and  the  college,  are  identical.  In  forming  courses  of 
study,  the  persistent  preferences  of  any  portion  of  the  community  should  be 
recognized  each  in  its  appropriate  time  and  course.  Within  the  limits  of  their 
resources  higher  institutions  should  give  these  subjects  and  these  courses  equal 
recognition;  and.  conversely,  all  secondary  courses  should  be  preparatory 
courses.  So  far  as  curriculum  goes,  the  difference  between  a  large  school  and 
a  small  one  should  be  the  difference  in  the  number  of  grades.  Once  the  uni- 
versities base  their  requirements  on  limits  of  time  and  substance,  and  reduce  the 
number  of  subjects  required  for  entrance  to  all  courses  to  a  retreating  minimum, 
the  best  interests  of  the  people  require  that  all  courses  be  preparatory.^  No 
subject  without  sufficient  nutriment  to  develop  an  advanced  student  has  sufficient 
nutriment  to  develop  a  citizen  and  a  member  of  society.  Any  subject  possessing 
real  qualities  to  develop  a  young  person  may  well  be  recognized  by  our  colleges 
and  universities  "     George  B.  Alton,  in  School  Review,  June,  1898. 


individual  states,  not  only  of  good  common  school  systems,  but  also  of 
state  universities.  Your  commission  believes  that  in  fact,  if  not  in  law, 
the  obligation  is  thus  laid  upon  the  communities  of  the  state  which  share 
most  largely  in  the  distribution  of  these  funds,  of  enabling  every  child,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  enjoy  the  privilege  of  study  at  higher  institutions. 
Chicago  has  an  enviable  record  in  the  number  of  its  high  school  graduates 
who  have  gone  to  various  colleges  and  universities,  and  is  profiting  deeply 
to-day  by  the  large  proportion  of  college-bred  men  and  women  identified 
with  its  municipal  life. 

A  conception  of  the  great  utility  of  the  public  high  school  in  the  Chi- 
cago system  has  been  the  first  result  of  a  study  of  these  schools,  and  we 
heartily  commend  the  expenditure  of  school  funds  in  this  direction.  We 
desire,  also,  to  call  attention  to  the  high  and  constantly  advancing  standard 
of  the  Chicago  high  schools.  In  the  teaching  force  especially,  the  increased 
opportunities  for  higher  education  admit  now  of  requiring  proportionately 
higher  qualifications.  Twenty  years  ago  it  would  have  been  a  hardship  to 
ask  of  candidates  for  secondary  positions  the  equivalent  of  good  college 
training.  To-day,  the  city  can  get  from  the  University  of  Illinois,  from 
Lake  Forest,  Northwestern,  and  Chicago  Universities,  and  from  other  in- 
stitutions in  this  and  neighboring  states,  the  best  graduates — many  of  them 
men  and  women  who  received  their  preparation  for  college  in  our  own 
public  schools.  Under  these  conditions  the  board  of  education  would  be 
justified  in  establishing  the  minimum  entrance  requirement  for  teachers 
at  a  bachelor's  degree  or  its  equivalent,  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
two  or  three  years  of  graduate,  specialized  study  can  properly  be  expected 
of  every  candidate.  In  the  high  schools,  as  in  the  elementary  schools,  Chi- 
cago should  insist  upon  having  the  best  professional  service  available.  To 
this  end,  the  requirements  for  appointment  should  increase  each  year  in 
difficulty  and  at  the  same  time  teachers  should  be  expected  to  give  proof 
of  constant  study  and  self-improvement. 

SECTION    I. THAT    AN    EFFORT    BE    MADE   TO    CORRELATE    MORE    CLOSELY 

THE   WORK   OF   THE   HIGH    SCHOOLS    WITH    THE   ELEMENTARY    SCHOOLS 
ON  THE  ONE   HAND  AND  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  ON   THE  OTHER; 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  desirability  of  connecting  the 
work  of  the  high  school  more  closely  with  that  of  the  elementary  schools. 
An  effort  should  be  made  to  bridge  the  chasm  which  has  been  recognized 
to  exist  between  the  two.  The  introduction  of  Latin  into  the  last  grades 
of  the  elementary  schools,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  has  doubtless  exercised 
an  influence  in  this  direction.     The  further  use  of  the  departmental  plan 

T03 


in  these  grades  will  have  a  similar  effect.  A  simplification  of  the  course  of 
study  that  would  tend  to  relieve  the  overcrowding  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades  would  bring  children  into  the  high  schools  better  prepared  to  pursue 
successfully  the  higher  branches,  while  relief  from  the  overcrowding  in 
the  ninth  grade  would  permit  a  larger  proportion  to  finish  successfully 
the  work  of  this  year.  In  a  broader  way,  we  believe,  efforts  may  be 
made,  leading  to  a  closer  continuity  between  the  elementary  schools  and 
the  high  schools.  Teachers  of  the  latter  should  be  encouraged  to  gain  a 
more  intimate  knowledge  of  teaching  done  in  the  grades  below.  They 
should  be  brought  into  contact,  as  far  as  possible;  with  the  teachers  of 
the  neighboring  elementary  schools.  The  high  schools  should  be  educa- 
tional centers  for  the  different  districts,  just  as  the  elementary  school  should 
be  made  a  center  for  its  particular  section.  Therefore  it  might  be  well  to 
give  the  high  school  principal  a  certain  connection  with  the  elementary 
schools  nearby,  thus  influencing  the  children  to  recognize  that  the  two 
are  naturally  related.  The  location,  even,  in  certain  sections  of  the  city, 
of  an  elementary  school  in  the  same  building  with  the  high  school  would 
have  a  similar  effect.  These  plans  and  others  that  have  been  suggested 
from  time  to  time  to  the  supervising  force,  commend  themselves  strongly 
to  your  commission. 

Not  less  important  than  the  close  connection  between  the  high  school 
and  the  elementary  school,  is  the  relation  of  the  former  to  the  normal 
school  of  the  city.  That  one  of  the  most  important  functions  of  the  high 
schools  is  to  educate  future  teachers,  has  been  indicated.  A  very  large 
percentage  of  graduates  of  our  high  schools  each  year  enter  the  normal 
school.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  course  of  study  in  these  schools  should 
be  arranged  in  reference  to  each  other.  Your  commission  is  fully  per- 
suaded that  without  limiting  the  work  of  the  high  school  in  the  immediate 
preparation  of  its  pupils  for  active  life,  or  in  their  indirect  preparation 
through  courses  of  higher  instruction,  it  can  be  made  to  furnish  a  more 
adequate  and  direct  training  for  the  normal  school. 

SECTION  2. THAT  PROVISION  BE  MADE  FOR  A  LARGER  TEACHING  FORCE, 

IN  ORDER  THAT  THE  NUMBER  OF  PUPILS  IN  ANY  ONE  CLASS  NEED  NOT 
EXCEED  FORTY ; 

In  recommending  various  changes  in  the  school  system  which  will  lead 
necessarily  to  larger  expense,  your  commission  has  not  failed  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  necessity  of  observing  the  utmost  economy  practicable.  Pro- 
visions have  been  made,  however,  in  various  parts  of  the  school  system 
that  do  not  accord  with  sound  economy.     This  is  eminently  the  case  in 

104 


the  number  of  pupils  assigned  to  the  teachers  in  the  different  grades.  Ex- 
perience has  shown  that  a  teacher  in  the  fifth  or  sixth  grade  can  give 
proper  instruction  to  a  larger  number  of  pupils  than  is  possible,  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  kindergarten.  At  the  other  end  of  the  school  course  it  seems 
also  very  desirable  that  the  number  of  pupils  under  each  teacher  be  smaller. 
Considering  the  expense  of  the  general  maintenance  of  a  high  school  and 
the  rapid  decrease  of  its  efficiency  where  many  pupils  are  put  under  the 
charge  of  one  teacher,  we  are  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  the  standard 
of  these  schools  can  be  maintained  only  by  an  increase  in  the  teaching 
force.  In  many  instances  the  classes  have  been  so  overcrowded  that  the 
teachers  have  been  unable  to  accomplish  adequate  results  in  their  work.(6) 
A  maximum  of  forty  pupils  in  any  one  class  would  seem  to  be  the  largest 
number  that  can  be  properly  handled  by  one  teacher;  many  of  our  most 
experienced  educators  are  in  favor  of  a  smaller  number. (7)  The  number 
here  suggested  indicates  a  limit  beyond  which  the  effectiveness  of  instruc- 
tion is  diminished  in  entire  disproportion  to  the  saving  in  salaries  thus 
secured.  (8) 

(6)  During  the  current  school  year  seventy  pupils  were  assigned  to  one 
teacher  for  a  daily  recitation  of  forty  minutes  in  beginning  Latin. 

(7)  "The  'suggestions'  say  that  the  number  of  pupils  in  any  one  class  should 
not  exceed  forty.  That  limit  is  too  high.  I  should  rather  make  it  thirty." — 
Henry  Sabin,  Ex-State  Superintendent  of  Instruction,  Des  Moines,  la. 

(8)  "Forty  pupils  in  a  class  is  nearly  twice  too  many.  Thirty-five  is  the 
utmost  limit  for  the  accomplishment  of  really  efficient  work,  and  that  number 
ought  not  to  be  exceeded  if  it  is  possible  to  avoid  it." — A  Chicago  Principal. 

"One  of  the  greatest  evils  which  militate  against  the  largest  success  of  the 
Chicago  system  of  high  schools  is  the  unreasonable  size  of  the  classes,  organized 
with  a  view  to  economy,  but  resulting  in  inexcusable  extravagance. 

"Pupils  who  pass  from  the  grammar  to  the  high  schools  find  themselves  in 
a  new  atmosphere,  with  new  teachers  and  a  new  order  of  studies.  These  studies 
require  preparation  and  the  exercise  of  reason  and  judgment  beyond  that 
brought  into  requisition  before.  These  pupils  are  of  different  degrees  of  talent, 
have  been  under  different  methods  of  instruction  and  need  much  individual 
attention,  especially  in  the  first  months  and  year  of  the  high  school. 

"Classes  in  algebra,  Latin,  German,  English  and  science  organized  with  fifty 
or  sixty  pupils  cannot  be  properly  managed  and  instructed  by  one  teacher. 
The  results  are  that  many  become  early  discouraged  and  discontinue  school 
who  under  other  and  more  encouraging  circumstances  would  remain  for  a 
full  course  of  study.  That  ten  or  twenty  per  cent  fail  in  the  first  year  of  the  high 
school  is  lamentable  and  calls  for  drastic  remedies.  No  class  should  be  per- 
mitted with  more  than  forty  pupils,  while  thirty  would  be  nearer  the  ideal." — 
A.  F.  Nightingale,  Assistant  Superintendent  for  High  Schools  (Chicago.) 


105 


SECTION    3. THAT  THE   SESSION  OF  THE   HIGH   SCHOOLS    BE    HELD   FROM 

NINE  TO  TH RLE,  WITH  A  RECESS  OF  THIRTY  MINUTES  J 

There  is  a  very  general  feeling,  we  have  found,  among  the  teachers 
in  our  high  schools  that  the  school  day  should  be  divided  into  six  instead 
of  five  periods.  This  would  allow  more  flexibility  in  the  programme  and 
greater  freedom  to  the  pupils  in  selecting  the  studies  which  they  desire. 
We  do  not  think,  however,  that  such  a  division  would  be  advisable  with 
the  present  number  of  hours  given  to  high  school  work.  It  would  result 
in  cutting  down  the  length  of  recitations  to  an  extent  that  would  impair 
the  value  of  higher  instruction.  With  efficient  teachers,  there  is  no  ques- 
tion that  the  recitation  periods  are  much  more  important  in  the  secondary 
than  even  in  the  elementary  schools ;  far  greater  results  can  be  secured  in 
a  fifty-minute  than  in  a  forty-minute  period.  The  recommendation  for 
an  increase  in  the  hours  demanded  of  high  school  instructors  will  lead,  in 
all  probability,  to  considerable  opposition,  but  your  commission,  judging 
from  the  experience  not  only  of  high  schools  now  added  to  the  city  system 
through  annexation,  but  also  of  other  cities  throughout  the  country,  feels 
convinced  that  the  change  here  proposed,  while  increasing  somewhat  the 
demands  made  upon  the  corps  of  instruction,  will  lead  to  such  an  improved 
condition  of  our  high  schools  as  will  commend  the  change  even  to  those 
affected.  Indeed,  the  recommendation  comes  in  part  from  those  whose 
duties  would  be  increased  by  its  adoption.  This  lengthening  of  the  day 
in  the  high  schools,  while  making  the  instruction  much  more  efficient, 
would  also  effect  a  great  saving  in  expense,  equivalent  perhaps  to  20  per 
cent,  of  the  cost  of  salaries  in  these  schools.  ,, 

SECTION    4. THAT    A   LARGER    PROPORTION    OF    THE    TEACHERS    BE    MEN  ; 

AND  THAT  ALL  PROPER  MEANS  BE  EMPLOYED  TO  ATTRACT  MEN  TO  THESE 
POSITIONS  ; 

In  the  high  schools  the  proportion  of  men  to  women  in  the  teaching 
force  should  be  higher  than  in  the  elementary  schools.  The  arguments 
mentioned  in  a  former  section  (9),  for  the  employment  of  more  men  in 
the  lower  grades,  apply  to  an  even  greater  degree  to  the  high  school. 
The  need  of  a  radical  change,  however,  is  not  so  strongly  felt  in  the  sec- 
ondary schools,  owing  to  the  larger  proportion  of  men  now  in  these  posi- 
tions. This  is  due  to  a  consistent  policy  of  the  board  of  education,  which 
your  commission  strongly  approves. 

(9)   Sec  Article  IV.  Section  9. 

106 


SECTION  5.— THAT  A  COMMERCIAL  HIGH  SCH00L(10),  WITH  A  FULL, 
LIBERAL  FOUR  YEARS'  COURSE  OF  STUDY  BE  ESTABLISHED  IX  SOME 
CENTRAL  LOCATION. 

The  importance  of  a  commercial  high  school  in  a  city  like  Chicago 
scarcely  requires  demonstration^11)  The  need  of  it  may  be  seen  in  the 
decreasing  proportion  of  boys  in  the  secondary  schools,  a  fact  due  in  part 
to  the  failure  to  furnish  the  kind  of  instruction  adapted  to  them.  The 
desire  for  such  a  school  has  been  felt  for  some  years,  as  evidenced  by  the 
earnest  recommendations  to  this  effect  in  annual  reports  of  various  presi- 
dents of  the  board  of  education.  (12)  This  demand  for  commercial  train- 
ing in  the  public  school  system  is  by  no  means  limited  to  Chicago.  The 
subject  has  been  widely  discussed  throughout  the  country  and  various 

(10)   For  fuller  treatment  of  the  commercial  high  school,  see  Appendix  C. 

(U)  "Recognizing  the  value  of  the  present  course  of  study  in  the  high  schools 
as  a  training  for  teaching,  for  preparing  for  college  and  as  a  means  of  general 
culture,  we  believe  that  they  do  not  fully  meet  the  needs  of  a  large  number  of 
our  youth  after  leaving  the  grammar  schools,  and  we  therefore  recommend  the 
establishment  of  commercial  courses  in  our  high  schools  and  of  a  greater  number 
of  high  and  manual  training  schools."— The  George  Howland  Club,  Chicago. 

(12)  "New  York  city  taught  us  a  wholesome  lesson  recently  by  establishing 
a  commercial  course  calculated  to  equip  its  pupils  for  business  pursuits.  English 
and  German  are  studied  throughout  their  four-year  high  school  course.  In 
the  second,  third  and  fourth  years  French  and  Spanish  are  optional  studies. 
All  through  the  four  years  bookkeeping,  business  correspondence,  banking  and 
finance,  commercial  arithmetic  and  economics  are  also  taught,  and  if  we  profit 
by  this  example  we  can  expect  to  compete  with  continental  countries  in  the 
struggle  for  commercial  supremacy  in  the  Latin  Americas.  Already  we  have 
at  our  doorsteps  Germany  and  England  virtually  monopolizing  the  trade  of 
Mexico,  Central  and  South  America.  The  development  of  Germany's  com- 
merce is  said  to  be  directly  traceable  to  scientific  education,  the  small  kingdom 
of  Saxony,  though  an  inland  state,  having  foreign  commerce  of  upwards  of 
$100,000,000  annually.  So  great  is  the  faith  of  that  country  in  this  method  of  edu- 
cation that  to  the  thirty  commercial  schools  they  had,  ten  more  have  been 
added  within  a  very  few  years.  Chicago  should  be  the  great  distributing  center 
of  the  south  and  southwest,  as  well  as  the  north  and  northwest,  but  to_  make 
her  so  we  must  not  only  impart  a  thorough  knowledge  of  our  own,  but  of  other 
languages  and  peoples."  Extension  of  our  commercial  relations  is  imperative 
if  we  are  to  prosper  permanently,  and  we  must  see  to  it  that  at  least  intelligent 
competition  is  had  with  the  representatives  of  less  enterprising  countries."— 
E.  G.  Halle,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1897. 

"There  is  yet  one  important  phase  of  human  activity  not  touched  by  our 
high  school  curriculum,  a  phase  which  in  a  large  sense  dominates  and  gives 
direction  to  all  the  other  elements  of  common  concern.  I  refer  to  the  com- 
mercial interest,  and  state  it  as  my  belief  that  if  there  be  found  any  need  of 
educated  and  skilled  directors  it  certainly  is  in  this  field.  The  interests  are 
so  vast,  so  interwoven  with  every  economic  industry  and  so  conducive  to  pro- 
gressive civilization,  that  it  touches  with  a  benignant  band  every  human  relation. 
The  opportunities  of  entering  our  commercial  houses,  except  as  •hewers  of 
wood  and  drawers  of  water'  for  great  proprietor^,  are  extraordinarily  limited, 
mainly   because   our    young    men    are    without    preparation    for    the    responsible 

107 


cities  have  taken  steps  in  this  direction.  The  arguments  which  have  been 
employed  in  favor  of  such  a  school  in  New  York,  in  Philadelphia  and  in 
San  Francisco  have  equal  weight  when  applied  to  Chicago.  Our  peculiar 
position  industrially  and  the  great  natural  advantages  here  afforded  in 
commercial  enterprise  make  it  vitally  important  that  this  city  should  have 
a  large  body  of  young  men  carefully  trained  and  equipped  for  such  work. 
Your  commission  would  not  be  misunderstood  in  its  recommendation 
for  a  commercial  school.  The  question  may  be  fairly  debatable  whether  any 
specific  training  for  the  pursuits  of  after-life  should  be  furnished  in  the 
public  school  system ;  but  this  question  need  not  be  discussed  here,  since  it 
is  not  at  all  involved  in  the  present  proposal.  Training  in  the  immediate 
necessities  of  the  ordinary  business  clerk  or  assistant  is  given  in  the  book- 
keeping, stenography  and  typewriting  courses  of  the  "business  college." 
These  subjects  may  find  a  proper  place  in  some  part  of  our  system  of  public 
instruction,  but  only  on  the  condition  that  they  be  reckoned  an  unim- 
portant feature  in  the  course  of  study.  If  to  them  be  added  com- 
mercial arithmetic,  the  general  theory  of  accounting,  mechanical  drawing 
and  other  studies  proposed  here  in  recent  discussions,  the  resulting  curri- 
culum will  still  not  justify  the  establishment  of  a  distinct  school,  for  this 
would  belong  to  a  class  of  schools  which,  excellent  in  themselves,  afford 
only  a  special,  narrow  training  and  should  not  be  duplicated  in  our  public 
system.  The  broad  course,  which  your  commission  has  in  mind,  can  be 
best  suggested  by  a  reference  to  the  higher  commercial  schools  in 
Europe. 

Germany  took  the  lead  in  offering  young  men  opportunities  in  separate 

schools  of  preparing  themselves  for  a  business  career.     Through  years  of 

patient  experimentation  a  kind  of  school  has  been  developed  which  meets 

this  purpose;  how  successfully,  can  be  seen  in  the  rapid  strides  which  that 

country  is  making  in  the  field  of  commerce  and  industry,  for  to  these 

schools  is  to  be  attributed  in  large  measure  her  increasing  prosperity.     The 

important  lesson  which  Germany  has  for  us  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other 

phases  of  educational  and  scientific  work,  may  be  summed  up  in  the  single 

word,  "thoroughness."     When  classical  training  was  the  national  ideal  in 

education,  the  German  gymnasia  furnished  a  model  of  what  secondary 

schools    should   be.     When    the    importance    and    value    of    the    modern 

languages  and  of  science  as  educational  instruments  became  apparent,  the 

Real-Schulen  of  Germany  quickly  embodied  this  idea  in  its  most  adequate 

duties  of  the  management  of  interests  that  require  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 

history    of    commerce    and    commercial    institutions,     commercial    geography. 

products,  imports  and  exports,  the  theory  and  practice  of  accounting,  the  study 

of  commercial  law  in  its  various   ramifications,   the  international   exchange  of 

moneys,  commercial  correspondence,  etc." — D.  R.  Cameron.  President's  Report, 

Chicago  Board  of  Education,  t8q6. 


form.  In  the  same  spirit  of  thorough-going  investigation  and  experiment 
Germany  has  grappled  with  the  problem  of  commercial  training  and  has 
developed  different  kinds  and  grades  of  this  instruction,  suited  to  the  vary- 
ing needs  of  different  communities.  In  day  schools  and  evening  schools, 
in  apprentice  schools  and  technical  schools,  from  the  public  system  of  the 
small  town  to  the  university  courses  of  a  large  city,  a  systematic  plan  of 
commercial  training  has  been  effected. 

We  are  concerned  here  only  with  that  business  training  which  is 
afforded  in  schools  corresponding  in  grade  with  our  public  high  schools. 
In  Germany  no  course  of  one  year  or  of  two  years  has  been  proposed.  On 
the  contrary,  a  course  of  study  has  been  laid  down  which  is  fully  as  liberal 
as  that  of  our  best  secondary  schools.  Considering  the  requirements  for 
admission,  the  public  commercial  school  of  Leipsic,  for  example,  offers  as 
sound  and  broad  a  training  as  is  afforded  in  our  best  high  schools.  The 
training  is  primarily  educational.  The  practical  value  of  the  course  lies 
in  the  method  of  treatment  adopted  for  the  different  subjects  of  instruction, 
which  involves  no  narrowing  of  the  culture  influences  proper  to  the  sec- 
ondary school.  The  modern  languages  and  science  are  thoroughly  taught, 
with  reference,  however,  to  their  utility  in  commercial  and  industrial  pur- 
suits. History  is  accorded  fair  attention,  but  takes  the  form  mostly  of  a 
systematic  study  in  the  development  of  commerce,  of  manufactures  and  in 
the  methods  of  transportation.  Much  attention  is  given  to  arithmetic, 
algebra  and  geometry,  but  with  particular  attention  to  business  needs. 
Geography  is  treated  not  so  much  from  the  political  as  from  the  physical 
and  commercial  point  of  view.  The  whole  course  offers  a  fair  equivalent 
of  four  years  work  in  one  of  our  high  schools. 

This  is  the  kind  of  commercial  training  which  your  commission  com- 
mends. Experience  will  doubtless  show  the  advisability  of  modifying,  of 
supplementing  and  perhaps  in  some  cases  of  barring,  some  portions  of  this 
course,  but  if  the  commercial  school  is  to  accomplish  the  ends  we  have  in 
mind,  the  curriculum  must  be  not  less  broad  than  that  of  our  public  high 
schools.  We  feel  strongly  that  a  short  and  so-called  "practical"  course 
would  be  predestined  to  failure  and  would  be  an  injury  rather  than  a  help 
to  what  will  prove  in  the  near  future  one  of  the  most  important  develop- 
ments in  secondary  education.  (13) 

(13)  "The  commercial  high  school  is  another  institution  which  may  not  be 
created  by  mere  argument,  but  will  be  called  into  existence  by  the  necessity  of  the 
times  and  the  rivalry  of  international  competition,  the  most  forcible  of  all  argu- 
ments."— A  Morton,  Superintendent,  John  Worthy  Manual  Training  School, 
Chicago,  III. 

"If   the    foregoing   propositions    are   admitted,    two   things   then    follow    of 
109 


The  time  is  ripe  for  establishing  a  commercial  nigh  school,  for  at  no 
time  in  the  history  of  the  country  have  wider  commercial  opportunities 
been  opened  and  at  no  time  has  the  spirit  of  competition  in  commercial  life 
been  more  potent  than  at  present.  ( 14 )  The  American  city  that  will  estab- 
lish on  broad  foundations  a  school  for  the  preparation  of  its  young-  men  in 
business  activities  will  secure  a  vantage  point  which  need  not  hereafter 
be  lost,  and  will  reap  benefits  entirely  out  of  proportion  to  the  effort  now 

necessity:  First,  that  the  business  interests  of  the  country  require  a  large 
advance"  in  the  quality  and  completeness  in  school  work  over  the  past.  Second 
that  to  attain  this  res'ult.  we  must  improve  the  generally  accepted  curriculum  of 
school  studies.  From  the  first  of  these  we  infer  that  the  high  school  is  necessary 
for  the  successful  carrying  out  of  the  business  projects  of  the  country;  and  from 
the  second,  that  careful  attention  should  be  given  to  arranging  the  most  philo- 
sophic, the  wisest  and  the  best  course  of  studies  for  a  high  school,  whose  chief 
function  is  tp  prepare  young  men  for  business  life." —  William  A.  Mowry,  in 
Education,  Vol.  Ill,  page  166. 

(•14)  "The  present  industrial  and  political  situation  in  the  United  States  em- 
phasizes anew  the  importance  of  more  thorough  provision  for  a  sound  commercial 
education  for  the  masses  of  the  people.  Whatever  may  be  the  outcome  of  the 
present  military  struggle  with  Spain,  whether  the  United  States  shall  take  and 
hold  Cuba,  Puerto  Rico  and  the  Philippines,  or  whether  at  the  conclusion  of  peace 
it  shall  make  those  islands  independent,  one  thing  is  certain— the  present  conflict 
as  nothing  else  in  the  life  of  the  nation,  has  turned  the  attention  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States  to  the  opportunities  and  advantages  of  a  development  of  our 
foreign  commerce.  The  growth  of  our  agricultural  and  manufacturing  industry 
has  been  so  remarkable  within  the  past  few  years  that  not  only  have  we  reached 
a  point  at  which  we  can  supply  the  wants  and  needs  of  our  own  population  along 
many  lines  of  manufactured  commodities,  but  we  are  in  a  position  to  manufacture 
large  surplus  quantities  for  export  to  other  nations.  Indeed,  it  is  perhaps  an 
open  question  whether  our  industry  can  continue  to  advance  and  develop  at  the 
present  rapid  rate  unless  in  some  way  we  can  open  up  the  foreign  markets  for  at 
least  the  surplus  of  our  production.  From  this  point  of  view  the  necessity  of  a 
more  thorough  and  more  extensive  commercial  training  becomes  evident.  In 
going  into  foreign  countries  we  must  compete  with  other  nations  which  have  the 
advantage  of  cheaper  capital  and  cheaper  labor.  It  is  evident  to  all  these  compet- 
ing nations  that  a  great  advantage  will  belong  to  that  one,  other  things  being 
equal,  which  gives  the  most  careful  and  patient  attention  to  the  development  and 
training  of  the  commercial  abilities  of  its  youth.  Germany  has  advanced  from  a 
comparatively  unimportant  place  to  one  of  the  leading  positions  in  this  race  for 
world  commerce,  and  it  has  done  so  largely  because  of  the  attention  which  as  a 
nation  it  has  given  to  the  education  of  its  industrial  and  commercial  leaders.  The 
building  of  the  Nicaragua  Canal,  the  development  of  trade  with  South  American 
peoples,  will  offer  an  opportunity  to  Chicago  which  it  will  certainly  be  to  its 
interest  to  seize  and  utilize.  It  is  one  of  the  standing  complaints  of  our  large 
business  houses  that  they  find  difficulty  in  filling  their  most  important  positions 
with  men  who,  to  a  natural  ability  for  trade  and  commerce,  join  that  special 
faculty  which  conns  from  special  and  careful  preparation  for  the  duties  and 
privileges  of  such  a  career.  Here  in  Chicago  we  need  to  provide  the  facilities  for 
such  education  as  liberally  and  fully  as  we  have  provided  facilities  for  other 
branches  of  secondary  training.  In  the  magnificent  system  of  high  schools 
which  this  city  has  established  and  supports,  the  envy  of  her  sister  communities, 
we  have  provided  good  facilities  for  those  young  men  and  women  who  desire 
to  secure  a  liberal  education  such  as  all  educated  men  and  women  in  our  society 
should  possess.  We  offer  special  facilities  to  those  who  wish  to  secure  that 
general   liberal   training  necessary   for  admission   to  the  college   and   university 


necessary  to  gain  them.  On  the  other  hand,  a  city  of  the  importance  of 
(  hicago  that  delays  such  action,  will,  we  firmly  believe,  suffer  needlessly 
in  its  industrial  and  commercial  prestige.  Your  commission  is  so  fully 
persuaded  of  the  importance  of  this  action  that  we  recommend  that  the 
first  expansion  of  the  school  system  shall  take  this  form  and  that,  at  the 
earliest  possible  date,  a  public  high  school  be  established  with  a  course  of 
study  extending  through  at  least  four  years,  planned  to  afford  a  liberal 
training,  and  at  the  same  time  to  prepare  its  pupils  for  the  various  kinds 
of  business  activity  and  to  qualify  them  for  the  highest  positions  in  the 
commercial  world. 

SECTION  6. THAT  TWO  ADDITIONAL    MANUAL  TRAINING  HIGH    SCHOOLS 

BE  ESTABLISHED,  ONE  ON  THE  NORTH  SIDE  AND  ONE  ON  THE  SOUTH 
SIDE  OF  THE  CITY,  EACH  WITH  A  FOUR  YEARS'"  COURSE  (15)  OPEN  TO  BOYS 
AND  GIRLS,  WITH  SPECIAL  OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  THE  LATTER  IN  STUDIES 
PERTAINING   TO   DOMESTIC   ECONOMY  ; 

and  to  the  professional  schools.  We  offer  in  one  or  two  of  the  schools  at  least 
partial  facilities  for  those  youths  who  desire  a  more  practical  training  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  mechanical  trades  or  technical  professions.  All  this  is  proper,  and 
in  no  respect  have  we  as  yet  done  our  full  duty  even  by  those  classes  who  desire 
this  sort  of  education.  But  for  that  other  great  class  of  young  men  and  women 
who  are  looking  forward  to  occupation  in  commercial  and  mercantile  pursuits, 
we  make  no  provision  whatever,  and  to  that  extent  we  are  discriminating  against 
them  in  the  race  of  life.  The  future  lawyer,  physician,  clergyman,  teacher  and 
engineer  find  in  our  system  of  secondary  schools  an  opportunity  to  secure  a 
valuable  preliminary  training  before  undertaking  the  study  of  their  special  pro- 
fessions. The  future  business  man,  whether  entering  upon  lines  of  commerce, 
insurance,  banking,  or  other  sides  of  business  life,  finds  no  such  assistance  in 
our  system  of  secondary  education.  While  not  neglecting  the  former,  we  cer- 
tainly have  a  duty  toward  the  latter  which  can  only  be  performed  by  organizing 
a  system  of  secondary  commercial  education  as  full,  as  complete  and  satisfactory, 
considering  its  purposes,  as  we  have  already  organized  in  other  lines.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  say  that  we  are  not  pleading  here  for  the  introduction  of 
mere'courses  in  bookkeeping,  stenography  and  typewriting,  but  for  that  com- 
prehensive and  detailed  study  of  the  field  of  commerce  and  business  which  is 
given  in  the  other  courses  in  our  high  schools  to  literature,  science  and  tech- 
nology. I  believe  that  at  least  one  commercial  high  school,  properly  equipped 
and  organized  for  furnishing  this  sort  of  instruction,  ought  to  be  established 
by  the  city  of  Chicago  in  the  immediate  future.  Possibly  courses  in  commercial 
subjects  parallel  to  the  courses  in  the  classics  and  science  ought  to  be  established 
in  two  or  more  of  the  existing  high  schools.  These  are  rather  matters  of  detail, 
but  the  necessity  of  providing  facilities  for  this  sort  of  instruction  is  plain,  and 
Chicago  has  here  an  opportunity  to  lead  the  way  in  a  much  needed  extension  and 
improvement  of  our  system  of  secondary  education.  The  subject  has  been  widely 
discussed  and  debated  in  other  cities  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  within  the 
near  future  the  other  large  cities  of  the  country  will  take  up  this  subject  in 
earnest.  Cannot  Chicago  point  the  way  in  this  field  of  commercial  instruction 
as  it  has  pointed  the  way  already  in  so  many  departments  of  commercial  and 
industrial  life?" — E.  G.  Halle,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education, 
1898. 

(15)   "Manual   training   is   beyond   question   useful,   but   if   introduced   more 
generally  it  should  not  he  understood  as  fitting  pupils  for  special  trades,  but  only 


TVERSITY 


SECTION  7. — THAT  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY  OF  THE  PRESENT  MANUAL 
TRAINING  HIGH  SCHOOL  ON  THE  WEST  SIDE  BE  CHANGED  TO  ACCORD 
WITH   THE  PROVISIONS   JUST   MENTIONED   FOR   THE   NEW    SCHOOLS. 

The  results  secured  through  the  English  High  and  Manual  Training 
School  have  won  general  public  approval.  The  records  of  its  graduates 
compare  most  favorably  with  those  of  the  graduates  of  other  secondary 
schools.  It  affords  a  kind  of  training  demanded  by  me  people  and  chosen 
by  a  constantly  increasing  number  of  Chicago  boys.  We  believe  that  in- 
creased opportunities  in  this  direction  would  be  to  the  decided  advantage 
of  the  school  system  and  indorse  without  qualification  the  proposal  to 
establish  a  school  similar  to  the  English  High  and  Manual  Training  School 
on  the  North  Side  and  on  the  South  Side.  The  criticism  has  been  made 
of  the  present  manual  training  school  that  its  curriculum  is  deficient  in 
liberal  studies.  Fuller  provision  should  be  made  in  this  particular,  and  in 
suggesting  a  four  years'  course  for  the  two  additional  manual  training 
high  schools  recommended,  as  well  as  for  the  present  English  High  and 
Manual  Training  School,  we  favor  placing  more  emphasis  than  at  present 
on  literature,  history  and  kindred  subjects. 

The  technical  instruction  which  has  heretofore  been  offered  the  boys 
of  this  school,  we  believe  should  be  paralleled  for  girls.  The  introduction 
of  manual  training  in  the  lower  grades  has  called  for  a  number  of  men 
and  women  able  to  give  such  instruction.  The  experiments  so  far  made 
in  the  line  of  domestic  economy  have  already  resulted  in  the  partial  intro- 
duction of  this  branch  into  the  elementary  schools,  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  in  its  still  wider  spread.  In  the  long  run,  Chicago  must  rely,  as 
indicated  already,  on  teachers  prepared  here  for  all  kinds  of  work  in  the 
school  system,  and  for  this  reason  a  secondary  course  for  girls  in  these 
branches  is  needed.  This  is,  however,  by  no  means  the. only  argument, 
and  perhaps  not  the  principal  one  for  opening  the  manual  training  high 
schools  to  both  sexes.  Equal  opportunities  should  be  afforded  boys  and 
girls  alike  in  our  public  school  system,  and  every  reason  that  can  be  adduced 
for  such  education  for  Chicago  boys  applies  in  like  measure  to  Chicago 
girls. (i6) 

as  a  general  fitting  for  life.  Manual  training  schools  should  not  be  allowed  to 
deteriorate  into  trade  schools,  nor  should  their  work  supersede  the  important 
matters  of  the  academic  side  of  training.  Therefore,  the  manual  training  course 
should  be  longer  rather  than  shorter  than  the  high  school  course."— .4  Chicago 
Principal. 

(16)  "The  opening  of  lines  of  domestic  economy  for  girls  is  another  step 
which  should  be  noted  with  a  great  deal  of  favor."— Henry  Sabin,  Ex-State 
Superintendent  of  Instruction,  Iowa. 

112 


ARTICLE   VII 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends  in  regard  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  teachers : 

SECTION     I. THAT    ADMISSION    TO    THE    NORMAL    SCHOOL    BE    ON    THE 

FOLLOWING  CONDITIONS:  (a)  FOR  GRADUATES  OF  A  HIGH  SCHOOL  OF 
THIS  CITY,  EVIDENCE  SATISFACTORY  TO  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD  OF  THE 
SUCCESSFUL  COMPLETION  OF  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY,  TOGETHER  WITH 
A  RECOMMENDATION  SATISFACTORY  TO  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD  FROM 
THE  PRINCIPAL  IN  REGARD  TO  GENERAL  QUALIFICATIONS  FOR  THE  WORK 
OF  TEACHING,  AND  A  CERTIFICATE  SIGNED  BY  A  PHYSICIAN  APPOINTED 
BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  TO  THE  EFFECT  THAT  THE  CANDIDATE  IS 
IN  GOOD  HEALTH  AND  FREE  EROM  DISABLING  PHYSICAL  DEFECTS:  (b) 
FOR  THOSE  WHO  ARE  NOT  GRADUATES  OF  A  HIGH  SCHOOL  OF  THIS  CITY, 
EVIDENCE  SATISFACTORY  TO  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD  OF  THE  COMPLE- 
TION OF  A  COURSE  OF  STUDY  EQUAL  TO  THAT  OF  THE  LOCAL  HIGH 
SCHOOLS,  TOGETHER  WITH  THE  RECOMMENDATION  OF  THE  EXAMINING 
BOARD  IN  REGARD  TO  GENERAL  QUALIFICATIONS  FOR  THE  WORK  OF 
TEACHING,    AND    SAID    PHYSICIAN'S    CERTIFICATE  ; 

SECTION  2. — THAT  THE  WORK  OF  EACH  STUDENT  IN  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 
BE  CAREFULLY  SUPERVISED  BY  THE  FACULTY,  AND  REGULAR  EXAMINA- 
TIONS BE  HELD  AS  A  TEST  OF  SATISFACTORY  PROGRESS  ;  AND  THAT  AT 
ANY  TIME  DURING  THE  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION  IT  BE  AT  THE  OPTION 
OF  THE  FACULTY  TO  DISMISS  THE  PUPIL  WHO,  HAVING  RECEIVED  ALL 
PROPER  ENCOURAGEMENT  AND  AID  FROM  THE  FACULTY,  SHALL  FAIL 
TO  EXHIBIT  SUFFICIENT  ABILITY  J  AND  THAT  SUCH  DISMISSAL  BE  WITH- 
OUT APPEAL,  EXCEPT  TO  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD,  WHOSE  DECISION 
SHALL  BE  FINAL  ; 

SECTION    3. THAT   THE    COURSE   OF    STUDY    BE   OF    NOT    LESS   THAN    TWO 

FULL  YEARS  J 

SECTION  4. — THAT  THE  CURRICULUM  BE  PLANNED  TO  PREPARE  ITS  GRAD- 
UATES TO  GIVE  INSTRUCTION  IN  ALL  THE  STUDIES  INCLUDED  IN  THE 
COURSE  OF  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  AND  THAT  LARGER  OPPORTUNI- 
TIES BE  AFFORDED,   BOTH    FOR  OBSERVATION     \XI>    PRACTICE   TEACHING] 


SECTION  5. — THAT  ONE  ACADEMIC  STUDY  AT  LEAST  BE  PURSUED  BY  EACH 
PUPIL  OF  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  GENERAL  CULTURE  J 

SECTION  6. — THAT  THE  GRADUATES  OF  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  BE  SEV- 
ERALLY UNDER  THE  GENERAL  SUPERVISION  OF  SOME  MEMBER  OF  THE 
FACULTY,  ACTING  WITH  THE  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENT  AND  THE 
PRINCIPAL  OF  THE  SCHOOL,  FOR  ONE  YEAR  AFTER  THE  FIRST  ASSIGN- 
MENT OF  THE  GRADUATES  AS  TEACHERS  IN  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  J 

SECTION  7. — THAT  ADDITIONAL  BUILDINGS  BE  ERECTED  FOR  THE  USE  OF 
THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL,  INCLUDING  AT  LEAST  ONE  FOR  THE  NORMAL 
SCHOOL  ITSELF  AND  ONE  FOR  ITS  PRACTICE  SCHOOL; 

SECTION  8. — THAT  AN  INVESTIGATION  BE  MADE  TO  DETERMINE  WHETHER, 
IN  VIEW  OF  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  CITY,  IT  MIGHT  BE  ADVANTAGEOUS 
TO  ESTABLISH,  INSTEAD  OF  ONE,  THREE  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  UNDER  ONE 
RESPONSIBLE  HEAD. 


The  necessity  of  a  normal  school  in  a  city  system  has  been  shown.  (x) 
It  rests  upon  the  importance  of  securing  teachers  properly  qualified  to 
give  instruction  in  the  city  schools.  That  such  a  normal  school,  while 
closely  correlated  with  the  high  schools,  should  be  distinct  from  them 

(1)   See  article  IV. 

"I  think  every  large  city  should  have  a  normal  school  to  which  it  should  lend 
its  consummate  care  and  should  steer  toward  an  absolute  requirement  that  every 
new  appointed  teacher  should  be  a  graduate.  I  also  think  a  system  of  night 
schools,  especially  of  a  practical  Pratt  Institute  type,  should  be  maintained."— 
G.  Stanley  Hall,  President  Clark  University. 

"I  regard  a  training  school  for  teachers  as  indispensible  to  the  successful 
administration  of  a  large  city  system."— John  IV.  Cook,  President  Illinois  State 
Normal  University. 

"In  respect  to  the  existence  of  a  normal  school  in  a  large  city,  all  I  can  say 
is  that  it  is  an  absolute  necessity.  It  is  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  secure 
properly  qualified  teachers."— Edzvard  Brooks,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

"In  regard  to  my  own  views  as  to  the  importance  of  a  normal  school  in  a 
large  city,  I  would  say  that  such  a  school  is  very  necessary  to  render  efficient 
and  progressive  a  school  system.  Persons  possessing  the  requisite  academic 
training  but  without  professional  knowledge  or  experience  require  from  two  to 
five  years  to  learn  how  to  do  their  work  successfully.  Of  course  the  schools 
suffer  while  this  practical  knowledge  is  being  acquired." — Henry  A.  Wise, 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  Baltimore.  Md. 

"All  competent  authorities  agree  in  the  opinion  that  a  course  of  special  train- 
ing in  the  theory  and  practice  of  teaching  should  be  insisted  on  as  prerequisite  to 
the  occupation  of  teacher.  In  no  department  of  school  economy  is  there  a 
greater  waste  of  the  public  money  than  in  the  employment  of  untrained  teachers. 

114 


in  both  subject  matter  and  methods,  has  been  proved  by  experience.  The 
plan  adopted  in  many  cities  of  attempting  the  preparation  of  teachers  in 
one,  or,  at  most,  two  years  of  teaching  in  connection  with  the  high  schools., 
has  not  been  successful.  Not  only  does  this  plan  involve  an  inevitable 
limitation  of  the  liberal  training  which  should  be  the  basis  for  professional 
work,  but  the  connection  of  the  normal  class  with  the  city  high  school  has 
robbed  the  future  teachers  of  an  csprit-de-corps  and  an  enthusiasm  for 
their  work,  which  can  be  generated  only  under  the  influence  of  those  who 
are  devoted  to  this  particular  kind  of  instruction  and  who  are  entirely  free 
from  academic  considerations  in  their  efforts  to  formulate  and  carry  out  a 
satisfactory  professional  course. 

Although  the  normal  school  should  be  distinct  from  the  high  schools 
of  the  city(2),  its  pupils  will  come  almost  entirely  from  the  graduates  of 

No  doubt  very  talented  young  ladies  with  only  a  high  school  education  often  do 
well,  but  with  an  added  normal  training  they  would  do  much  better.  My  own 
experience  and  observation  in  the  direction  and  supervision  of  normal  schools,  of 
all  the  different  descriptions  known  among  us,  and  of  city  schools,  lead  me  to 
conclude  that,  during  the  first  five  years  of  service  the  trained  is  worth  about 
twice  as  much  as  the  teacher  who  has  no  professional  training.  No  city  can 
afford  to  employ  untrained  teachers." — "City  School  Systems,"  by  John  D.  Phil- 
brick,  p.  46. 

(2)  "A  city  normal  school  in  a  large  city  should  be  a  distinct  institution,  con- 
nected neither  with  a  city  college,  if  there  be  one,  nor  with  the  city  high  schools. 
It  should  be  open  to  such  graduates  of  the  city  high  schools  as  can  bring  a 
testimonial  from  the  principal  of  their  high  school,  that  so  far  as  he  knows  they 
have  developed  no  physical,  mental  or  moral  peculiarities  or  characteristics  that 
would  unfit  them  for  the  work  of  elementary  teaching.  I  lay  some  stress  upon 
this  point;  for  very  often  totally  unfit  persons  are  received  into  city  training 
schools  and  eventually  pass  on  to  teaching  positions ;  persons  who  are  known 
to  their  former  teachers  to  be  lacking  in  the  qualifications  necessary  for  a  suc- 
cessful teacher.  It  is  well  to  stop  such  persons  at  the  outset,  and  it  may  be  done 
in  the  way  I  indicate." — Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  Columbia  University. 

"The  study  of  city  normal  schools  leads  me  to  the  conclusion  that  the  type 
comprised  in  the  second  category,  mentioned  on  p.  42,  is  the  normal  type  of  city 
normal  schools.  This  is  the  purely  professional  type.  It  does  not  pretend  to 
give  academic  instruction.  It  receives  only  pupils  of  mature  age,  who  have 
successfully  passed  through  the  high  school  course  of  instruction.  For  admission 
to  the  most  advanced  schools  of  this  kind,  the  applicant  must  be  at  least  eighteen 
years  of  age  and  must  have  completed  a  high  school  course  of  four  years.  In 
the  state  normal  schools,  as  a  general  thing,  in  the  east,  at  least,  much  the  greater 
part  of  the  course  of  instruction  is  devoted  to  academic  studies.  There  being  no 
distinct  division  between  the  academic  and  the  professional  instruction,  both  are 
carried  on  simultaneously.  There  are  those  who  contend  that  this  is  the 
ideal  plan  of  the  normal  school.  The  argument  in  favor  of  this  plan  is  based 
mainly  on  the  assumption  that  normal  pupils  cannot  obtain  a  good  education  in 
non-professional  schools,  or,  what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  that  a  supply  of 
normal  pupils  who  have  received  the  requisite  general  education  cannot  be  had. 
But  this  assumption  is  not  applicable  to  city  systems  in  this  country.  The  Cin- 
cinnati board  of  education  can  provide  just  as  good  education  for  prpils  in  a 


the  latter,  and  the  two  should  be  closely  connected  by  their  respective 
courses  of  study. 

We  recommend,  therefore : 

SECTION    I. THAT   ADMISSION    TO   THE   NORMAL   SCHOOL(3)    BE   ON    THE 

FOLLOWING  CONDITIONS:  (a)  FOR  GRADUATES  OF  A  HIGH  SCHOOL  OF 
THIS  CITY,  EVIDENCE  SATISFACTORY  TO  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD  OF  THE 
SUCCESSFUL  COMPLETION  OF  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY,  TOGETHER  WITH 
A  RECOMMENDATION  SATISFACTORY  TO  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD  FROM 
THE  PRINCIPAL  IN  REGARD  TO  GENERAL  QUALIFICATIONS  FOR  THE  WORK 
OF  TEACHING,  AND  A  CERTIFICATE  SIGNED  BY  A  PHYSICIAN  APPOINTED 
BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  TO  THE  EFFECT  THAT  THE  CANDIDATE  IS 
IN  GOOD  HEALTH  AND  FREE  FROM  DISABLING  PHYSICAL  DEFECTS:  (b) 
FOR  THOSE  WHO  ARE  NOT  GRADUATES  OF  A  HIGH  SCHOOL  OF  THIS  CITY, 
EVIDENCE  SATISFACTORY  TO  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD  OF  THE  COMPLE- 
TION OF  A  COURSE  OF  STUDY  EQUAL  TO  THAT  OF  THE  LOCAL  HIGH 
SCHOOLS,  TOGETHER  WITH  THE  RECOMMENDATION  OF  THE  EXAMINING 
BOARD  IN  REGARD  TO  GENERAL  QUALIFICATIONS  FOR  THE  WORK  OF 
TEACHING  AND  SAID  PHYSICIAN'S  CERTIFICATE; 

The  plan  heretofore  followed  of  admitting  to  the  normal  school  the 
graduates  of  the  city  high  schools  who  have  a  certain  high  average  in  their 

school  organized  as  a  high  school  as  in  a  school  organized  as  a  normal  school,  and 
so  can  any  other  city.  The  normal  school  forms  no  exception  to  the  general 
principle  that  in  all  institutions  of  education,  both  economy  and  efficiency  are 
promoted  by  simplification  of  function.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  the 
ideal  type  of  the  professional  school  for  the  training  of  teachers  should  be  first 
developed  in  cities  where  candidates  in  sufficient  numbers  who  have  completed 
the  high  school  course  present  themselves." — "City  School  Systems/'  by  John  D. 
.      Philbrick,  p.  45. 

(3)  "From  1877  to  September,  1893,  there  was  no  school  or  department  for 
the  training  of  teachers  in  Chicago.  High  school  graduates  who  passed  the 
teacher's  examination  were  assigned  to  schools  as  cadets  to  learn  how  to  teach. 
When  they  succeeded  as  cadets  they  were  assigned  as  teachers.  In  the  report 
before  referred  to.  Superintendent  Lane  says :  'As  the  number  of  inexperienced 
teachers  increased,  it  was  deemed  best  to  give  them  some  professional  training 
in  addition  to  their  cadet  practice.'  In  September,  1893.  a  training  class  for 
cadets  was  organized.  Graduates  of  the  four  years'  high  school  course  were 
admitted  after  passing  the  required  examination.  The  course  covered  half  a 
year.  In  1895  it  was  decided  to  make  the  course  one  year,  and  the  class  which 
graduated  in  June,  1896,  received  a  year's  instruction  in  the  training  school.  The 
extension  of  the  course  to  one  year  was  a  decided  step  in  a  forward  direction, 
and  demonstrated  beyond  all  question  that  the  idea  of  building  up  a  professional 
training  school  for  teachers  had  become  firmly  established.  It  is  true  it  was 
not  established  without  a  struggle,  but  the  objections  had  been  met  and  had 
been  overruled.  The  thanks  of  the  people  of  Chicago  are  due  to  those  who,  with 
courage  and  persistence,  contended  for  the  idea  of  training  for  teachers.  In 
connection  with  the  idea  of  extending  the  course  of  the  training  school  for 
cadets,  there  had  grown  up  the  opinion  that  the  work  should  be  broadened  in 

Iin 


studies  for  the  four  years (4),  has  many  advantages,  not  the  least  of  which 
is  the  necessary  restriction  thus  imposed  on  the  number  of  those  who 
desire  to  prepare  themselves  as  teachers.  Your  commission,  however, 
thinks  that  this  restriction  is  hardly  fair  or  adequate. (5)  On  the  one 
hand,  it  permits  many  to  enter  the  normal  school  who,  despite  high  scholar- 
ship, have  not  given  proof  that  they  will  become  successful  members  of 
the  teaching  force.  On  the  other  hand,  it  undoubtedly  excludes  many 
who,  in  the  opinion  of  those  best  qualified  by  their  professional  standing 
and  their  personal  knowledge  to  judge,  are  promising  candidates  for  this 
work.  If  it  did  not  seem  probable  that  with  an  increasing  number  of  high 
schools  there  will  be  a  large  number  of  applicants  possessing  the  required 
scholarship  from  whom  selection  can  be  made  for  admission  to  the  normal 
school,  your  commission  would  be  inclined  to  recommend  lowering  this 
particular  test.  As  it  is,  we  favor  the  retention  of  the  scholarship  standard 
of  admission,  but  recommend  that  in  addition  be  required  the  approval  of 

many  directions,  and  that  it  was  about  time  to  establish  a  great  normal  school 
for  the  city  of  Chicago.  Just  at  this  time  came  the  proposition  from  the  county 
commissioners  of  Cook  County  to  turn  over  to  the  city  of  Chicago,  on  certain 
conditions,  the  land,  building  and  equipment  belonging  to  the  Cook  County  Nor- 
mal School.  In  January,  1896,  by  an  agreement  with  the  county  commissioners 
of  Cook  County,  the  board  of  education  assumed  control  of  the  normal  school, 
and  by  this  act  advanced  the  school  system  of  Chicago  in  lines  of  progress  by 
many  years." — Committee  on  Normal  Schools,  in  Annual  Report,  Chicago  Board 
of  Education,  1897. 

(4)  "In  1891  there  was  no  training  school  for  teachers;  and  there  were  no 
qualifications  demanded  for  admission  to  an  examination  other  that  that  the 
candidate  should  be  nineteen  years  old.  Students  in  the  second  year  of  the  high 
school  course  sometimes  passed  the  examination.  Those  who  were  successful 
in  the  examination  and  had  never  taught  were  assigned  to  the  various  schools 
to  practice  teaching  under  the  principals  of  such  schools.  These  cadets  were 
eligible  to  permanent  appointments  as  soon  as  they  could  show  ability  to  manage 
a  room.  In  some  instances  they  were  assigned  to  permanent  places  within  one 
month  after  being  assigned  as  cadets.  The  following  are  the  present  require- 
ments for  a  teacher's  certificate :  Applicants  who  have  taught  four  years  suc- 
cessfully, as  shown  by  credentials,  or  those  who  are  college  graduates,  may  be 
examined.  Graduates  of  our  high  schools,  who  have  90  per  cent  scholarship, 
or  who  pass  an  examination,  must  take  one  years'  training  in  the  normal  school, 
and  then  cadet  or  practice  successfully  for  four  months  in  some  school  before 
they  can  be  assigned  to  permanent  positions." — A.  G.  Lane,  Assistant  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools,  Chicago. 

(5)  "It  should  be  said,  however,  that  an  element  of  weakness  begins  to  show 
itself  arising  from  the  practice  of  allowing  all  the  graduates  of  the  high  school 
desiring  to  become  teachers  to  enter  as  pupil  teachers  simply  because  the]  are 
graduates,  whether  they  possess  the  necessary  physical  and  mental  qualifications 
to  become  good  teachers  or  not.  My  opinion  is  that  we  have  pursued  this  course 
as  long  as  it  is  wise  or  profitable." — Report  of  the  Fall  River  (Mass.)  Public 
Schools.  1888. 

117 


the  principal  of  the  respective  school. (G)  He,  after  consultation  with  his 
teachers,  can  pick  out  those  who,  with  scholarship,  have  the  qualities  which 
will  best  fit  them  for  successful  teaching.  The  requirement  of  a  certificate 
of  health  of  all  who  desire  appointment  as  teachers  in  the  city,  should  be 
made,  also,  of  all  who  seek  admission  to  the  training  school.  Heretofore, 
some  pupils  have  been  admitted  whom  even  a  cursory  examination 
would  have  excluded  as  physically  unfit  for  positions  in  our  schools.  It 
has  seemed  to  your  commission  unkind  and  cruel  to  allow  those  thus  handi- 
capped to  undergo  the  arduous  training  of  the  normal  school,  and  to  leave 
them  to  find  out  when  too  late,  their  incapacity  for  the  teacher's  duties. 
It  is  an  act  of  mere  justice  alike  to  such  candidates  and  to  the  city  which 
supports  the  schools,  to  shut  them  out  from  a  field  that  offers  for  them  no 
promise  of  success. 

SECTION  2. — THAT  THE  WORK  OF  EACH  STUDENT  IN  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 
BE  CAREFULLY  SUPERVISED  BY  THE  FACULTY,  AND  REGULAR  EXAMINA- 
TIONS BE  HELD  AS  A  TEST  OF  SATISFACTORY  PROGRESS;  AND  THAT  AT 
ANY  TIME  DURING  THE  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION  IT  BE  AT  THE  OPTION 
OF  THE  FACULTY  TO  DISMISS  THE  PUPIL  WHO,  HAVING  RECEIVED  ALL 
PROPER  ENCOURAGEMENT  AND  AID  FROM  THE  FACULTY,  SHALL  FAIL 
TO  EXHIBIT  SUFFICIENT  ABILITY  ;  AND  THAT  SUCH  DISMISSAL  BE  WITH- 
OUT APPEAL,  EXCEPT  TO  THE  EXAMINING  BOARD,  WHOSE  DECISION 
SHALL  BE  FINAL  ; 

To  those  acquainted  with  educational  work,  it  may  seem  strange  that 
any  necessity  should  exist  for  recommending  formally  that  the  faculty 
of  a  normal  school  should  supervise  the  work  of  each  pupil  and  have  the 
power  of  dismissal.     Experience  in  Chicago  has  shown,  however,  that 

(6)  "The  majority  of  our  teachers  in  all  hut  the  high  schools  will  naturally 
be  supplied  by  the  graduates  of  our  own  system.  The  certificate  of  our  own 
schools  should  be  a  sufficient  title,  but  I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  it  has 
hitherto  been  based  too  exclusively  upon  intellectual  tests.  To  pass  an  examina- 
tion by  no  means  establishes  the  qualification  to  act  as  the  mental  and  moral 
guardian  of  a  class  of  children.  Over  and  over  again,  during  the  past  twenty 
years  have  students  of  mine  been  admitted  to  the  teaching  force  when  I  have 
known  them  to  be  absolutely  unfit  for  such  a  trust.  They  have  contrived  to 
pass  an  examination  and  that  is  all.  No  inquiry  has  been  made  concerning  the 
moral  atmosphere  likely  to  exist  in  the  school  rooms  under  their  charge.  Per- 
haps a  thousand  of  my  students  altogether  have  thus  become  teachers  in  the 
primary  and  grammar  grades,  and  my  opinion  for  their  fitness  in  the  work  has 
not  once  been  asked.  Yet  those  of  us  who  come  into  intimate  personal  contact 
(during  the  last  year  or  two  years  of  the  high  school  work)  with  these  young 

118 


owing  to  the  large  number  of  those  desiring  to  prepare  themselves  for 
teaching  and  the  great  pressure  toward  ultimate  appointment  as  teachers 
of  any  that  have  been  admitted  to  the  normal  school,  undue  influences  have 
been  used  to  retain  pupils  in  that  school  despite  their  admitted  incapacity. 
This  irregularity  has  been  due  partly  to  a  feeling  that  some  leniency  might 
be  shown  those  who  have  made  in  many  cases  great  sacrifices  to  gain  a 
professional  training.  We  suggest  that,  where  possible,  this  question  be 
settled  early  in  the  school  course,  and  the  only  method  of  satisfactorily 
settling  it  is  by  means  of  regular  examinations.  (7)  The  additional  recom- 
mendation that  the  faculty  of  the  school  be  given  the  right  to  determine 
the  pupil's  ability  and  scholarship,  might  seem  also  unnecessary,  for  such 
power  is  the  universal  privilege  of  teaching  bodies.  Yet  it  is  a  fact  that 
the  influences  just  described  have  secured  the  diploma  of  the  Chicago 
Normal  School  for  many  pupils,  from  whom  the  honest  judgment  of  the 
faculty  would  have  withheld  it.  This  statement  should  not  be  made 
lightly,  but  your  commission  has  been  forced  to  conclude  that  such  has 
been  the  case  not  infrequently.  While  the  faculty  should  be  given  large 
power  in  this  particular,  we  think  it  well  that  on  occasion  arising,  their 
action  should  be  reviewed  by  the  examining  board. 

SECTION   3. THAT   THE    COURSE   OF   STUDY   BE   OF    NOT    LESS   THAN    TWO 

FULL  YEARS  ;(8) 

Advance  in  the  requirements  made  of  candidates  for  teaching  positions 
in  Chicago  has  been  constant,  and  along  with  these  requirements  the 
opportunities  for  preparation  have  increased.  We  believe  that  the  Chicago 
Normal  School  has  been  efficiently  carried  on.     Its  graduates  have  brought 

women,  are  the  only  ones  who  can  possibly  know  whether  they  are  fit  persons 
to  teach  children.  It  seems  to  me  that  a  certificate  of  character  or  general  fitness. 
from  those  in  the  direct  charge  of  students  during  the  last  year  or  two  of  their 
school  life,  should  be  made  an  absolute  requirement  for  appointment,  quite  inde- 
pendent of  their  ability  to  pass  successfully  an  examination." — A  Chicago  Prin- 
cipal. 

(?)  "Pupils  are  examined  from  time  to  time  during  their  progress  through 
the  classes,  and  those  deemed  unfit  to  pursue  the  course  to  the  end  are  dropped. 
This  is  done  by  the  head-master  with  the  concurrence  of  the  superintendent  and 
the  board  of  supervisors,  who  are  kept  informed  by  the  head-master  concerning 
the  standing  of  the  pupils.  The  last  sifting  comes  at  graduation ;  only  those  are 
graduated  who  give  promise  of  becoming  fairly  good  teachers."— Edwin  P. 
Seaver,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Boston,  Mass. 

"If  it  appears  on  acquaintance  that  a  serious  mistake  has  been  made  in  esti- 
mating any  of  these  elements,  then,  as  soon  as  the  mistake  is  fairly  apparent 
and  is  probably  a  permanent  condition,  the  pupil  should  be  requested  to  withdraw 

119 


a  new  spirit  of  enthusiasm  and  greater  adaptability  to  conditions  into  the 
teaching  force  of  the  city.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  give  in  one  year 
adequate  professional  training.  Educational  experience  and  opinion 
point  unanimously  to  the  advisability  of  a  two  years'  course  of  study. 
The  number  of  applicants  for  admission  to  the  normal  school  at  present 
and  the  number  of  its  graduates  have  made  it  feasible  to  require  an  addi- 
tional year  of  training,  without  any  resulting  disadvantage.  Your  com- 
mission urges,  therefore,  that  as  soon  as  possible  this  change  be  made  in 
the  Chicago  Normal  School. (9) 

from  the  work.  This  is  not  a  case  where  the  wheat  and  the  tares  should  grow 
together  till  the  harvest  at  graduation  day  or  the  examination  preceding  it.  With 
such  a  foundation  continually  maintained,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  school  to  conquer 
success  for  each  pupil."— Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  15. 

(8)  "The  ideal  training  course  is  one  of  two  years  length."— Committee  of 
Fifteen,  />.  13. 

"The  course  of  study  in  a  city  training  school  should  be  at  least  two  years 
in  length,  and  strictly  professional  in  character.  By  this,  I  mean  that  no  time  or 
energy  should  be  spent  in  repairing  deficiencies  of  scholarship — there  should  be 
no  deficiencies  of  scholarship  to  repair.  For  the  first  year  of  the  course,  two- 
thirds  of  the  time  should  be  spent  in  presenting  to  the  pupils  the  elementary  school 
subjects,  in  what  might  be  called  their  pedagogic  form:  that  their  organization 
and  analysis  as  subject  matter,  the  inner  connection  of  their  various  parts  should 
be  made  plain,  as  well  as  their  interdependencies  and  mutual  relationships.  This 
kind  of  instruction  is  not.  as  a  rule,  given  in  this  country,  because  the  time  that 
should  be  devoted  to  it  is  usually  given  to  teaching  over  again,  and  for  the  third 
or  fourth  time  the  subject  matter  itself  of  the  elementary  school  curriculum.  The 
other  third  of  the  first  should  be  spent  in  the  study  of  psychology  and  its  appli- 
cations to  teaching  by  the  most  modern  methods  of  instruction.  The  second 
year  of  the  course  should  include  instruction  in  the  history  of  education,  in  the 
principles  (or  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the  philosophy)  of  education,  in  school 
organization  and  management,  and  in  practical  educational  work  under  com- 
petent supervision  and  criticism.  Under  the  latter  head  I  include  both  observa- 
tion of  good  teaching  and  the  writing  of  reports  thereon ;  making  of  ideal  lesson 
plans  and  the  discussion  thereof ;  and  the  conduct  of  actual  class  exercises  under 
supervision." — Nicholas  Murray  Butler.  Columbia  University. 

(9)  "I  think  the  course  should  not  be  less  than  two  years,  and  during  the 
second  year  at  least  one-half  the  time  of  the  pupil  should  be  spent  in  practice 
work  under  most  critical  and  careful  observation.  I  do  not  understand  that  I 
am  asked  to  present  a  course  of  study  for  a  normal  school,  but  I  may  say  in  gen- 
eral that  it  should  be  of  such  a  character  in  the  first  place  as  will  give  one  a 
strong  propulsion  toward  child  study  and  a  thorough  professional  conscientious- 
ness. In  the  second  place,  it  should  involve  a  thorough-going  examination  of 
the  course  of  study,  and  a  careful  and  extended  discussion  of  method.  And  in 
the  third  place,  it  should  indicate  not  less  than  half  a  year  of  practice  work,  a 
portion  of  the  day  being  spent  in  that  aspect  of  the  work  and  the  remaining 
portion  in  critical   studies  of  the  faults  of  presentation  and  the  theories  neces- 

120 


SECTION  4. THAT  THE  CURRICULUM  BE  PLANNED  TO  PREPARE  ITS  GRAD- 
UATES TO  GIVE  INSTRUCTION  IN  ALL  THE  STUDIES  INCLUDED  IN  THE 
COURSE  OF  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  AND  THAT  LARGER  OPPORTUNI- 
TIES  BE  AFFORDED,   BOTH    FOR  OBSERVATION    AND   PRACTICE   TEACHING; 

With  this  lengthening-  of  the  course  of  study,  we  believe  that  the 
curriculum  of  the  normal  school,  if  carefully  correlated  with  that  of  the 
secondary  schools,  can  afford  full  preparation  for  instruction  in  all  the 
branches  taught  in  the  primary  and  the  grammar  grades.  (10)      A  con- 

sary  to  correct  such  faults.  I  do  not  regard  one  year  as  long  enough  time  for  the 
professional  preparation  of  even  university  graduates.  There  is  no  difficulty 
at  all  in  the  matter,  as  it  seems  to  me,  since  the  positions  in  the  city  are  so 
eagerly  sought  that  candidates  are  willing  to  do  whatever  is  required  of  them 
that  is  in  any  way  reasonable,  to  fit  themselves  for  such  positions,  if  they  can  be 
assured  of  the  position  after  the  preparation  is  completed." — John  W.  Cook, 
President  Illinois  State  Normal  University. 

"The  remaining  48  were  held  to  profit  by  the  two  years'  course  of  instruction 
so  wisely  provided  by  the  honorable  board  of  trustees.  The  benefits  of  this 
extension  of  time  for  training  cannot  fail  to  redound  to  the  permanent  advantage 
of  the  school  children  under  the  influence  of  these  young  teachers,  an  advantage 
so  tangible  and  measurable  that  it  cannot  fail  to  be  seen  to  abundantly  justify 
the  measure  which  produced  it.  The  teacher  more  than  another  needs  sound 
and  broad  scholarship.  He,  by  the  long  and  deliberate  process  of  assimilation, 
needs  to  have  made  quite  his  own  a  large  body  of  knowledge  related  and  arranged 
to  serve  as  the  educating  and  understanding  influence  by  which  children  are 
to  be  taught  and  directed.  By  this  extension  of  time  for  training,  we  expect, 
with  a  certainty  of  fulfillment,  a  broader  culture  for  our  pupils,  richer  expe- 
riences and  larger  sympathies,  all  counting  for  a  stronger  development  of  char- 
acter, for  finer  and  surer  comprehension  of  the  teacher's  place  and  work,  and 
for  intelligent  and  helpful  meeting  of  the  child's  legitimate  demand  to  be  well 
equipped  for  a  successful  and  honorable  career." — Ida  Gilbert  Myers,  Principal 
Normal  School,  Washington,  D.  C. — Report  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Public 
Schools  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  1897. 

(10)  "The  normal  school,  as  here  outlined,  cannot  prepare  teachers  for  sec- 
ondary work. 

"These  considerations  and  others  are  the  occasion  of  a  growing  conviction, 
widespread  in  this  land,  that  secondary  teachers  should  be  trained  for  their 
work  even  more  carefully  than  elementary  teachers  are  trained.  This  convic- 
tion is  manifested  in  the  efforts  to  secure  normal  schools  adapted  to  training 
teachers  for  secondary  schools,  notably  in  Massachusetts  and  New  York,  and 
in  the  numerous  professorships  of  pedagogy  established  in  rapidly  increasing 
numbers  in  our  colleges  and  universities.  The  training  of  teachers  for  sec- 
ondary schools  is  in  several  essential  respects  the  same  as  that  for  teachers  for 
elementary  schools.  Both  demand  scholarship,  theory  and  practice.  The  degree 
of  scholarship  required  for  secondary  teaching  is  by  common  consent  fixed  at 
a  college  education.  No  one — with  rare  exceptions — should  be  allowed  to  teach 
in  a  high  school  who  has  not  this  fundamental  preparation." — Committee  of 
Fifteen,  p.  17. 

"At  some  point  in  this  training  school  course  the  students  should  be  divided 
into  groups,  according  to  their  natural  capacity  or  tastes,  and  prepared  especially 
to  undertake  the  work  of  either  the  lower  or  the  upper  grades  of  an  elementary 
school.     Teachers  often  suffer  personal  embarrassment  and  distress,  and  the  com- 


siderable  extension  of  the  time  devoted  to  studies  recently  introduced  into 
the  Chicago  system  will  gradually  do  away  to  a  great  extent  with  the 
necessity  for  special  teachers.  German,  Latin,  music,  drawing  and  gym- 
nastics can  be  taught  much  more  satisfactorily  by  the  teacher  of  the  grade, 
and  such  an  arrangement  would  permit  a  considerable  reduction  in  the 
expense  of  instruction.  When  constructive  work  of  different  kinds,  from 
the  work  of  the  kindergarten  to  the  manual  training  and  domestic  economy 
of  the  upper  grades,  has  become  an  integral  part  of  the  course  of  study, 
the  same  statement  will  be  true,  we  believe,  in  regard  to  this  branch. 
With  the  larger  facilities  afforded  by  more  manual  training  schools,  with 
a  fuller  curriculum  in  these  subjects  and  with  special  training  in  a  two 
years'  normal  course,  the  graduates  of  the  latter  school  should  be  com- 
petent to  do  all  the  constructive  teaching  necessary  in  the  grades. 

Greater  emphasis  should  be  put  also  on  kindergarten  training  in  the 
normal  school,  and  an  optional  course  should  be  added  for  those  who 
desire  to  prepare  themselves  for  this  work.(n)  The  city  should  offer  all 
needed  facilities  in  preparation  for  any  teaching  below  the  grade  of  the 
secondary  schools. 

The  Chicago  Normal  School,  with  only  a  one  year's  course,  has  thus  far 
suffered  from  the  comparatively  slight  attention  that  could  be  given  to 

munity  often  suffers  great  disadvantage,  because  there  is  no  opportunity  in  the 
training  school  course  to  specialize  somewhat  in  the  preparation  for  schoolroom 
work.  While,  of  course,  all  teaching  is  one  and  the  same,  yet  any  experienced 
school  supervisor  will  confirm  the  statement  that  different  qualities  both  of  attain- 
ment and  temperament  are  needed  for  success  with  children  from  six  to  ten  years 
of  age." — Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  Columbia  University. 

(11)  "But  the  influence  of  the  kindergarten  is  felt  in  still  another  direction. 
The  normal  school  stands  for  what  is  established  and  thus  tends  toward  con- 
servatism. But  because  of  this  and  the  necessity  of  formulating  its  work,  its 
methods  tend  to  become  fixed  and  formal,  and  thus  to  bring  reproach  on  normal 
school  work.  The  presence  of  a  kindergarten,  the  whole  spirit  of  which  is  spon- 
taneity, naturalness  and  free  self-expression,  is  a  valuable  antidote  to  this.  In 
the  kindergarten  the  child  is  superior  to  the  system ;  in  the  school  the  individual 
must  too  often  yield  to  it.  The  emphasis  the  kindergarten  places  on  the  indi- 
vidual in  his  social  and  ethical  relations  is  of  great  value  to  the  future  teacher 
in  helping  her  to  see  her  pupils  as  individuals  when  she  is  obliged  to  emphasize 
class  instruction.  The  further  emphasis  the  kindergarten  places  on  sympathetic 
relations  between  teacher  and  pupil  will  serve  as  an  ideal  when  she  is  tempted 
to  adapt  the  arbitrary  modes  of  government  the  school  sometimes  seems  to 
require. 

"The  modern  movement  of  child-study  is  another  into  which  the  normal  stu- 
dent should  be  initiated.  But  for  this,  also,  the  kindergarten  is  invaluable.  The 
purpose  of  the  child-study  movement  is  the  better  understanding  of  the  child  for 
the  purpose  of  directing  his  development  more  intelligently.  This  is  likewise 
the  purpose  of  the  kindergarten."— Nina  C.  Vandeicalker,  in  Kindergarten  Maga- 
zine, March,  1898. 


observation  work  and  practice  teaching.  (12)  The  extension  of  the  course 
to  two  years  will  more  than  double  in  these  particulars  the  efficiency  of 
the  school.  Compared  with  some  of  the  other  large  cities  of  the  country, 
Chicago  has  been  deficient  in  the  preparation  of  teachers,  and  although 
steady  progress  has  been  made  in  recent  years,  much  that  is  possible  in 
this  direction  remains  to  be  done.  Our  city,  for  reasons  already  sug- 
gested, is  especially  in  need  of  teachers  prepared  to  meet  the  peculiar  con- 
ditions surrounding  our  school  system.  No  more  effective  steps  toward 
this  can  be  made  than  by  increasing  the  opportunities  for  observation 
work(13)  both  in  immediate  connection  with  the  normal  school  and  so  far 
as  possible  in  schools  located  in  widely  varying  sections  of  the  city.(14)    If 

(12)  "In  one  important  respect,  the  normal  school  has  peculiar  advantages, 
namely,  in  the  provision  for  model  schools  of  practice.  Some  of  the  city  normal 
schools,  however,  and  particularly  the  training  schools  for  teachers,  are  not  so 
well  furnished  with  this  means  of  training  as  could  be  desired,  the  school  set 
apart  for  this  purpose  comprising  in  too  many  cases  only  the  primary  grade  or 
some  lower  grammar  class  in  addition.  They  ought  also  to  comprise  pupils  of 
each  sex.  Even  so  important  a  normal  school  as  that  of  Philadelphia  has  only 
classes  of  girls  in  the  grammar  grade  of  its  school  of  practice.  Abundant  proof 
of  the  excellence  and  success  of  schools  of  practice  connected  with  city  normal 
schools  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that  parents  are  very  generally  anxious  to  secure 
places  in  them  for  their  children." — "City  School  Systems,"  by  John  D.  Phil- 
brick,  p.  44. 

(13)  "A  good  deal  of  experience  in  connection  with  training  teachers,  both  in 
city  training  schools  and  in  connection  with  our  training  class  for  college  gradu- 
ates here  in  Brookline,  which  has  been  in  operation  for  three  years,  convinces  me 
that  the  chief  element  in  training  is  actual  contact  with  and  the  performance  of 
work  in  the  school  room,  so  that  your  plan  for  larger  facilities  for  observation 
and  practice  is  eminently  sound.  While  theory  is  necessary,  it  receives  its  chief 
value  in  connection  with  its  indicated  application  in  the  school  room.  This 
remark  applies  to  all  theory  suggested  by  the  history  of  education  and  the 
advanced  views  of  educational  reformers.  They  are  all  to  be  interpreted  in 
the  school  room  and  their  value  or  lack  of  value  proven." — 5.  T.  Dutton,  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools,  Brookline,  Mass. 

"The  normal  schools  incline  to  the  smallest  proportion  for  practice  teaching, 
the  city  schools  to  the  largest.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  train- 
ing schools  are  a  close  continuation,  usually,  of  high  schools,  and  that  the  high 
school  courses  give  a  more  uniform  and  probably  adequate  preparation  than  the 
students  entering  normal  training  schools  have  usually  had.  Their  facilities  for 
practice  teaching  are  much  greater  than  normal  schools  can  secure,  and  for  this 
reason,  also,  practice  is  made  relatively  more  important." — Committee  of 
Fifteen,  p.  5. 

(14)  "The  practice  school  should  not  be  a  small  school  in  a  limited  region. 
With  the  children  of  every  European  nationality  in  Chicago's  public  schools,  the 
student  teachers,  as  well  as  the  faculty  of  the  normal  school,  should  have  wider 
experience  than  teachers  over  children  living  in  a  small  part  of  Englewood. 
There  should  be  a  practice  school  in  the  Bohemian,  in  the  Italian,  in  the  Swedish 
and  in  the  Polish  districts  as  well  as  in  an  American  speaking  locality." — A  Chi- 
cago Superintendent. 

"It  is  important  to  add,  however,  that  in  the  judgment  of  your  committee  not 
less  than  half  of  the  time  spent  under  training  of  the  apprentice  teacher  should 


this  is  true  in  the  work  of  observation,  it  is  equally  true  in  regard  to 
practice  teaching,  so  necessary  to  pupils  in  the  normal  school.  Your  com- 
mission believes  that  this  part  of  the  normal  school  instruction  also  can 
be  advantageously  carried  on  in  different  school  districts  at  a  slight  increase 
in  expense. 

SECTION  5. THAT  ONE  ACADEMIC  STUDY  AT  LEAST  BE  PURSUED  BY  EACH 

PUPIL  OF  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  GENERAL  CULTURE  ; 

The  graduates  of  our  city  high  schools  when  they  begin  professional 
training  should  be  well  equipped  in  general  education  and  acquaintance  with 
the  subjects  that  they  will  be  required  to  teach.  The  normal  school  of  a  large 
community,  unlike  similar  institutions  supported  in  rural  districts  of  the 
state,  can  presuppose  a  fairly  adequate  knowledge  and  culture  on  the  part 
of  the  candidates  for  admission.  Its  course  should,  therefore,  be  distinctly 
professional^15)  Nevertheless,  a  source  of  danger  lies  in  the  constant 
devotion  to  study  from  the  point  of  view  only  of  the  future  teacher  and 
in  continuous  emphasis  on  method  rather  than  matter.  Thus  the  pupils 
of  the  normal  school  may  in  two  years  lose  something  of  the  desire  for 

be  given  to  observation  and  practice,  and  that  this  practice  in  its  conditions  should 
be  as  similar  as  possible  to  the  work  she  will  later  be  required  to  do  inde- 
pendently."— Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  5. 

(15)  "If  training  schools  are  to  be  distinguished  from  other  secondary  schools, 
they  must  do  a  work  not  done  in  other  schools.  So  far  as  they  teach  common 
branches  of  study  they  are  doing  what  other  schools  are  doing,  and  have  small 
excuse  for  existence ;  but  it  may  be  granted  that  methods  can  be  practicably 
taught  only  as  to  subjects,  that  the  study  done  in  professional  schools  may  so 
treat  of  the  subjects  of  study,  not  as  objects  to  be  acquired,  but  as  objects  to 
be  presented,  that  their  treatment  shall  be  wholly  professional.  One  who  is  to 
treat  a  subject  needs  to  know  it  as  a  whole  made  up  of  related  and  subordinate 
parts,  and  hence  must  study  it  by  method  that  will  give  this  knowledge.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  press  the  argument  that  many  pupils  enter  normal  and  training 
schools  with  such  slight  preparation  as  to  require  instruction  in  academic  subjects. 
The  college,  with  a  preparatory  department,  is,  as  a  rule,  an  institution  of  dis- 
tinctly lower  grade  than  one  without  such  a  department.  Academy  work  of 
the  normal  schools  that  is  in  the  nature  of  preparation  for  professional  work, 
lowers  the  standard  and  perhaps  the  usefulness  of  such  a  school ;  but  academic 
work  done  as  a  means  of  illustrating  or  enforcing  professional  truth  has  its  place 
in  a  professional  school  as  in  effect  a  part  of  the  professional  work.  Professional 
study  differs  widely  from  academic  study.  In  the  one  a  science  is  studied  in 
relation  to  the  studying  mind;  in  the  other,  in  reference  to  its  principles  and 
applications.  The  aim  of  one  kind  of  study  is  power  to  apply;  of  the  other, 
power  to  present.  The  tendency  of  the  one  is  to  bring  the  learner  into  sympathy 
with  the  natural  world;  of  the  other,  with  the  child  world.  How  much  broader 
becomes  the  teacher  who  takes  both  the  academic  and  the  professional  view ! 
He  who  learns  that  he  may  know,  and  he  who  learns  that  he  may  teach,  are 
standing  in  quite  different  mental  attitudes.  One  works  for  knowledge  of  sub- 
ject matter;  the  other,  that  his  knowledge  may  have  due  organization,  that  he 
may  bring  to  conscienciousness  the  apperceiving  ideas  by  means  of  which  matter 
and  method  may  be  suitably  conjoined." — Committer  of  Fifteen,  p.  3. 

124 


broader  attainment,  without  which  they  are  not  qualified  to  enter  ihe 
schools  as  teachers. (16)  In  order  to  obviate  this  danger,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  give  opportunity  in  the  normal  school  for  some  slight  specialization 
on  the  part  of  each  pupil,  we  recommend  that  an  option  be  allowed  of 
different  academic  studies ;  and  that  each  pupil  be  required  to  pursue  one 
such  study  through  the  two  years  of  normal  work.  If  the  departmental  ; 
idea,  suggested  elsewhere,  is  to  spread,  as  seems  likely,  at  least  in  the 
higher  grades,  the  recommendation  just  made  will  be  of  decided  advantage 
to  the  future  teacher. 

SECTION  6. THAT  THE  GRADUATES  OF  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  BE  SEV- 
ERALLY UNDER  THE  SUPERVISION  OF  SOME  MEMBER  OF  THE  FACULTY, 
ACTING  WITH  THE  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENT  AND  THE  PRINCIPAL 
OF  THE  SCHOOL,  FOR  ONE  YEAR  AFTER  THE  FIRST  ASSIGNMENT  OF  THE 
GRADUATES    AS    TEACHERS    IN    THE    PUBLIC    SCHOOLS. 

The  principle  has  been  already  laid  down  that  no  one  on  entering  the 
Chicago  system  should  receive  permanent  appointment.  A  probation 
should  be  required  of  at  least  two  years,  and  only  on  the  successful  com- 
pletion of  this  period  should  the  teacher  receive  a  permanent  certificate. 
These  two  years  are  recognized  as  the  most  difficult  and  important  in  the 

(16)  "The  greatest  problem  for  the  faculty  of  the  normal  school  to  solve  is 
this :  How  can  the  students  be  so  trained  that  their  ideal  of  education  will  be  a 
developing  one,  and  not  be  dwarfed  and  thrown  into  the  shade  by  methods  and 
devices  in  teaching?  The  concentration  of  thought  and  activity  for  one  or  two 
years  on  teaching  itself,  draws  the  normal  students  themselves  so  completely  away 
from  academic  work  that  the  majority  do  not  resume  it  after  graduating  from 
the  normal  school.  While  the  Chicago  Normal  School  should  not  do  the  work 
of  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools  with  its  student  teachers  as  the  state 
normal  universities  are  obliged  to,  yet  (though  almost  alone  in  my  belief).  I  am 
confident  that  the  normal  students  should  while  in  that  school  take  one  advanced 
study  outside  of  pedagogy,  psychology  and  child  study."— A  Chicago  Superin- 
tendent. 

"Most  fundamental  and  important  of  the  professional  studies  which  ought 
to  be  pursued  by  one  intending  to  teach,  is  psychology.  This  study  should  be 
pursued  at  two  periods  of  the  training  school  course,  the  beginning  and  the 
end,  and  its  principles  should  be  appealed  to  daily  when  not  formally  studied. 
The  method  of  study  should  be  more  deductive  than  inductive.  The  terminology 
should  be  learned  from  a  text-book  and  significance  given  to  the  terms  by  intro- 
spection, observation  and  analysis.  Power  of  introspection  should  be  gained, 
guidance  of  observation  should  be  given  and  confirmation  of  psychological  prin- 
ciples should  be  sought  on  every  hand.  The  habit  of  thinking  analytically  and 
psychologically  should  be  formed  by  every  teacher.  At  the  close  of  the  course 
a  more  profound  and  more  completely  inductive  study  of  physiological  psychology 
should  be  made.  In  this  way,  a  tendency  to  investigate  should  be  encouraged 
or  created." — Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  6. 


teacher's  career,  and  every  effort  should  he  made  to  aid  the  teachers  in 
their  early  work.  Sympathetic  direction  has  been  given  the  new  teachers 
by  their  more  experienced  comrades  and  the  principals  and  superintend- 
ents. Such  assistance,  however,  is  perforce  limited  in  amount,  and  during 
the  first  critical  weeks  and  months  of  this  probation,  those  in  immediate 
charge  of  the  new  teachers  are  hampered  by  a  lack  of  previous  knowledge 
of  them.  These  beginners  have  often  worked  out  their  own  problems  with 
unnecessary  difficulty,  or  failed  in  them  before  the  supervising  force  from 
the  principal  up  has  felt  able  to  give  helpful  criticism  and  advice.  Your 
commission  believes  that  the  teachers  of  the  normal  school,  who  under 
the  plan  proposed  will  have  followed  carefully  for  two  years  the  training 
of  the  candidates,  might  offer  material  assistance  at  this  juncture,  and 
that  their  knowledge  of  the  personality  of  the  new  teachers  would  supple- 
ment in  a  most  valuable  way  the  observations  and  impressions  of  the  prin- 
cipals and  the  assistant  superintendents.  The  responsibility  of  following 
up  in  this  way  the  work  of  the  normal  school  graduates  might  well  be 
assigned  to  the  members  of  the  faculty,  who  have  been  severally  brought 
by  their  own  work  into  intimate  acquaintance  with  them.  This  proposal 
might  perhaps  be  criticised  as  likely  to  impair  the  work  of  the  teacher  in 
the  normal  school  itself.  Such  a  criticism  would  prove,  however,  we  con- 
sider, superficial  and  ill-founded.  If  there  is  anything  especially  important 
in  a  normal  school,  it  is  a  definite  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  faculty 
of  the  work  actually  done  in  the  elementary  schools,  and  the  time  and  effort 
thus  demanded  of  the  faculty  of  the  normal  school  in  the  supervision  of 
its  graduates,  would  redound  directly  to  the  benefit  not  only  of  the  gradu- 
ates, but  of  the  school  itself. 

SECTION  7. — THAT  ADDITIONAL  BUILDINGS  BE  ERECTED  FOR  THE  USE  OF 
THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL,  INCLUDING  AT  LEAST  ONE  FOR  THE  NORMAL 
SCHOOL  ITSELF  AND  ONE  FOR  ITS  PRACTICE  SCHOOL  J 

Initiatory  steps  have  already  been  taken  toward  providing  additional 
accommodations  at  the  normal  school,  but  action  seems  to  have  been  undulv 
delayed  for  various  reasons.  The  school,  in  the  judgment  of  your  commis- 
sion, is  in  urgent  need  of  additional  buildings,  including  at  least  a 
general  one  for  recitation,  laboratory,  and  library  purposes  of  the  school : 
another,  with  much  larger  provisions,  for  the  model  school,  and  as  soon 
as  seems  advisable,  one  also  for  museum  purposes 


126 


SECTION  8. — THAT  AN  INVESTIGATION  BE  MADE  TO  DETERMINE  WHETHER, 
IN  VIEW  OF  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  CITY,  IT  MIGHT  BE  ADVANTAGEOUS 
TO  ESTABLISH,  INSTEAD  OF  ONE,  THREE  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  UNDER  ONE 
RESPONSIBLE  HEAD.  (17) 

Chicago  has  always  found  it  difficult  to  establish  one  central  institu- 
tion of  any  kind  for  school  purposes.  The  large  area  included  within  our 
limits,  and  the  peculiar  division  of  the  city  into  rather  sharply  defined  sec- 
tions, offer  grave  difficulties  in  selecting  any  particular  site.(18)  The  loca- 
tion of  the  present  normal  school  seems  eminently  disadvantageous.  This 
question  so  far  as  it  affects  the  present  school  was  settled  in  advance  by 
the  transference  of  the  school  by  Cook  county  to  the  city  with  the  special 
provision  that  it  be  retained  on  its  present  site.  Under  these  circumstances 
it  may  be  advisable  to  provide  only  for  a  certain  differentiation  in  the  func- 
tions of  the  normal  school.  The  need  already  indicated  for  more  observa- 
tion and  practice  work  in  connection  with  normal  training,  might  be  met 
by  establishing  one  or  more  branch  schools  under  the  direction  of  the 
principal  and  faculty  of  the  Chicago  Normal  School ;  these  may  perhaps 
become  ultimately  distinct  schools.  This  arrangement  would  not  only 
give  the  graduates  a  much  needed  knowledge  of  local (19)  conditions,  but 

(17)  "In  addition  to  her  advanced  methods  of  instruction,  the  pupil  teacher 
needs  to  acquire  the  ability  to  keep  a  reasonable  number  of  children  properly 
employed  at  their  seats.  To  this  end,  part  of  her  practical  work  should  be  the 
management  of  a  room,  the  membership  of  which  approximates  that  of  an  ordi- 
nary school  room.  Placing  a  normal  school  at  a  point  central  to  the  divisions 
of  our  city,  or  establishing  such  a  school  on  the  North  Side  and  another  on  the 
West  Side  would  make  such  practice  work  possible." — Ella  F.  Young  Club. 

(18)  This  statement  should  not  be  construed  against  the  establishment  of  a 
central  commercial  school,  open  to  boys  of  high  school  age,  since  these  can 
attend  the  sessions  in  the  business  district  with  greater  safety  and  less  incon- 
venience than  the  young  women,  who  form  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  pupils 
at  the  normal  school. 

(19)  "There  is  a.  constantly  increasing  demand  for  trained  teachers.  This 
demand  is  more  marked  in  the  cities  than  in  the  country.  A  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  graduates  of  state  normal  schools  find  employment  in  the  city 
schools ;  but  the  supply  from  this  source  is  inadequate.  Hence  the  city  boards 
of  a  considerable  number  of  the  larger  cities  have  made  provisions  more  or 
less  extensive,  for  the  professional  training  of  teachers  for  the  schools  under 
their  charge.  The  supplementing  of  the  supply  from  the  state  normal  schools 
has  not  been  the  sole  motive  for  making  this  provision.  Another  argument  in 
its  favor  is  found  in  the  fact  of  the  increased  facility  thus  afforded  to  home 
talent  for  professional  preparation.  And,  besides,  it  is  generally  believed  that 
home  trained  teachers  may  be  better  adapted  for  the  service  to  which  they  are 
destined.  The  establishment  of  city  normal  schools  is  by  no  means  a  new  idea 
in  our  educational  economy.  It  appears  that  the  legal  provisions  for  the  first 
city  normal   school   antedates  by  about  twenty  years  the  establishment  of  the 


would  also  make  it  easier  for  pupils  in  various  parts  of  the  city  to  attend 
a  part  of  the  normal  school  course.  (20) 

first  state  normal  school.  The  city  of  Philadelphia  took  the  lead  in  this  matter. 
In  the  'Act  to  provide  for  the  education  of  children  at  the  public  expense  within 
the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,'  passed  in  1818,  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the 
controllers  who  were  intrusted  with  the  administration  of  the  schools,  'to  estab- 
lish a  model  school,  in  order  to  qualify  teachers  for  the  secondary  schools  and 
for  schools  in  other  parts  of  the  state.'  " — "City  School  Systems."  by  John  D. 
Phil  brick,  p.  41. 

(20)  "It  is  unfortunate  that  this  school  is  located  so  far  from  the  part  of  the 
city  reached  by  traveling  on  only  one  line  of  street  cars,  or  elevated  trains,  or 
suburban  trains.  Too  much  time  and  nervous  energy  are  expended  by  the  stu- 
dents in  going  to  and  from  the  school  daily.  Notwithstanding  the  value  of 
the  property  acquired  in  Englewood,  I  believe  a  mistake  was  made  when  the 
city  normal  school  was  located  where  it  now  is.  When  the  board  of  education 
erects  a  building  for  its  own  use,  that  is,  a  building  containing  rooms  for  the 
board,  the  superintendent's  department  and  the  business  department,  there  should 
be  rooms  for  teachers'  meetings  and  for  the  accommodation  of  the  normal  classes 
in  the  theoretical  and  academic  work.  One-half  of  the  classes  should  meet  in 
the  morning  and  one-half  in  the  afternoon.  By  the  division  of  the  normal  classes 
into  morning  and  afternoon  classes  and  an  alteration  of  the  time  so  that  one- 
half  of  the  year  a  class  would  attend  mornings  and  during  the  other  half  would 
attend  afternoons,  these  practice  schools  would  not  only  have  student  teachers 
in  them  throughout  the  entire  day,  but  the  student  teachers  would  have  their 
work  under  varied  conditions  as  to  time  and  pupils.  In  addition  to  that,  the 
student  teachers  would  acquire  power  in  teaching  classes  under  conditions  similar 
to  that  of  those  in  the  schools  in  which  they  will  eventually  be  employed." — A 
Chicago  Superintendent. 


n8 


jpecial 
rt  litotes 


ARTICLE   VIII 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends : 

SECTION  I. — THAT  THE  TEACHING  OF  THE  SPECIAL  SUBJECTS  IN  THE 
COURSE  OF  THE_ELEMENTARY_5,CHOOLS  BE  ENCOURAGED,  AND  EFFORTS 
BE  MADeTtO  CORRELATE  THEM  MORE  CLOSELY  WITH  THE  OTHER  STUDIES 
OF  THE   COURSE  ; 

SECTION  2. THAT  DRAWING,  MUSIC  AND  PHYSICAL  CULTURE  BE  CON- 
SIDERED PROPER  STUDIES  FOR  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  AND  THAT 
INSTRUCTION  BE  GIVEN  IN  THEM  ACCORDING  TO  SUITABLE  PROVISIONS; 

SECTION  3. —  (a)  that  constructive  work  of  some  form  be  gradu- 

ALLY  INTRODUCED  INTO  EACH  GRADE  OF  EVERY  ELEMENTARY 
SCHOOL(1)  ;  AND  THAT  BELOW  THE  SEVENTH  GRADE  THIS  TAKE  THE 
SAME  FORM  FOR  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  ; 

(b)  THAT  IN  THE  SEVENTH  AND  EIGHTH  GRADES  THE  WORK 
BE  DIFFERENTIATED,  TAKING  FOR  THE  PRESENT  THE  FORM  OF  WOOD- 
WORK   FOR   BOYS   AND   DOMESTIC   ECONOMY    FOR   GIRLS; 

(c)  THAT  FACILITIES  FOR  SUCH  INSTRUCTION  IN  THE  SEVENTH 
AND  EIGHTH  GRADES  BE  PROVIDED  AS  RAPIDLY  AS  POSSIBLE,  WITH  DUE 
REFERENCE  TO  ECONOMY  IN  THE  MATTER  BOTH  OF  EQUIPMENT  AND 
MATERIAL  J 

SECTION    4. THAT   THE   TEACHING  OF   THESE   SUBJECTS    BE    CONDUCTED 

AS  FAR  AS  PRACTICABLE  BY  THE  REGULAR  TEACHERS. 


We  do  not  feel  called  upon  to  present  at  length  arguments  in 
favor  of  various  subjects  introduced  during  recent  years  into  the  com- 
mon school  curriculum.    The  widespread  tendency  to  make  the  course  of 

(!)  "The  introduction  of  hand  work  into  all  grades  is  desirable  ;  but  we  would 
recommend  that  facilities  for  conducting  this  work  be  provided  at  each  and  every 
school.  All  material  required  for  seat  work,  sense  training,  or  other  educational 
purposes,  should  be  furnished  by  the  board  of  education.  The  introduction  of 
new  subjects  or  new  methods  should  not  depend  upon  the  generosity  or  pecuniary 
resources  of  the  teacher.     The  hand  work  should  be  the  same  for  boys  and  girls 

129 


study  fuller  and  richer,  has  been  already  mentioned.  (2)  It  has  resulted 
'in  the  teaching  of  German  and  Latin  and  algebra  in  the  higher  grades; 
of  music (3)  and  drawing  and  physical  culture  throughout  the  elementary 
schools ;  in  the  establishment  of  the  kindergarten  as  an  integral  part  of 

until  they  reach  the  seventh  grade,   when   some  differentiation   may  be  intro- 
duced."— Ella  F.  Young  Club. 

*'\Ye  do  not  attempt  to  teach  trades  in  our  public  schools  any  more  than  we 
attempt  to  make  lawyers  or  doctors ;  but  the  knowledge  obtained  in  the  manual 
training  exercises  of  the  general  school  course  will  prove  beneficial  not  only  to 
mechanics  but  to  professional  men  and  employers.  This  knowledge  makes  a 
bond  of  sympathy  between  employer  and  employe,  and  will  do  much  toward  clos- 
ing the  gap  between  labor  and  capital.  This  addition  to  our  course  of  study 
assists  not  only  in  preparing  bread  winners  but  in  preparing  citizens  useful  to 
society  and  the  world." — James  A.  Forshay,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Los 
Angeles,  Cal. — N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1897,  p.  584. 

"But  finally,  constructive  work  has  found  most  favor  as  a  moral  agency.  In 
all  the  social  elements  of  Chicago  it  has  become  a  permanent  and  reliable  feature. 
And,  furthermore,  in  the  vacation  schools  among  the  poorest  and  most  hardened 
classes  of  children,  it  is  the  only  means  of  controlling  and  at  the  same  time  check- 
ing the  evil  instincts  of  criminal  children.  Manual  constructive  work  is,  there- 
fore, one  of  the  most  powerful  means  for  the  developing  and  educating  of  the 
young,  and  should  be  given  immediately  a  large  place  in  every  elementary  school. 
And  particularly  should  this  be  the  case  in  countries  where  the  uncounted  major- 
ity of  children  receive  their  whole  training  and  then  pass  out  of  school  into  a 
life  of  mechanical  labor,  without  the  slightest  effort  being  made  to  develop  their 
nerves  and  muscles  for  the  work  they  are  called  to  perform." — Frederick  Eby, 
in  Education,  April,  1898. 

"I  claim  as  an  important  argument  in  manual  training,  that  every  step  in 
hand  culture  involves  a  corresponding  increase  in  brain  culture — the  distinctive 
work  of  the  public  school.  In  what  particular  respect  is  hand  work  thus  helpful 
to 'the  mind?  Our  perceptive  powers  are  trained  by  causing  any  sense  in  a 
state  of  attention  to  be  directed  upon  any  object  long  enough  to  pass  in  review 
all  its  parts.  Manipulation  of  wood  with  a  tool  certainly  does  this  for  the  sens" 
of  sight  and  touch.  If  the  act  be  frequent,  as  it  must  be  in  hand  work,  the  sens* 
perception  becomes  familiar,  and  is  readily  recalled  by  the  retentive  faculty 
Rapid  interpretations  are  a  natural  result.  Clear  perceptions  evidently  aid 
distinct  conceptions,  and  the  memory  becomes  a  storehouse  for  the  kind  of  facts 
thus  obtained.  Again,  by  a  course  of  judicious  instruction  in  wood  working, 
there  would  be  formed  a  habit  of  orderly  progress,  from  one  step  to  the  next— 
for  no  good  carpenter  proceeds  haphazard ;  and  such  a  habit  can  be  used  in  other 
directions.  We  as  teachers  should  like  to  see  it  applied  in  arithmetic,  grammar 
and  indeed  in  all  studies."— Ray  Greene  Huling,  in  Education,  September,  1883. 

(2)  See  Article  V. 

(3)  "The  tendency  to  make  music  in  the  school  chiefly  a  matter  of  musical 
notation  with  its  arbitrary  signs  and  technical  difficulties,  degrades  the  subject 
from  its  proper  position.  The  main  emphasis  should  be  given  to  the  culture 
of  the  feelings,  the  development  of  the  musical  sense  and  awakening  of  the 
soul  to  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  harmony,  in  order  that  the  moral  nature 
may  be  quickened  and  strengthened.  There  are  plenty  of  other  exercises  that 
appeal  simply  to  the  intellect,  as  mathematics,  mechanical  drawing,  and  certain 
phases  of  geography  and  history.  Music  finds  its  truest  justification  in  the 
schools  only  as  it  supplies  the  highest  aesthetic  training  which  has  been  so  sadly 
lacking.     It  may  be  said,  incidentally,  that  music  is  an  aid  to  all  other  school 

130 


the  school  system  (4),  and  is  bringing  about  the  very  general  introduction 
of  manual  training  and  domestic  economy  in  our  larger  cities.  This  ten- 
dency is  not  to  be  resisted.  What  the  people  need  and  desire  will  in  the 
end  always  determine  the  arrangement  of  the  course  of  study. (5)  The 
teaching  of  German  in  the  Chicago  schools  is  not  the  result  of  any  theoreti- 
cal view  on  the  part  of  experts  as  to  its  value  in  the  course.  It  came  as 
the  inevitable  result  of  public  demand,  and  it  will  remain  just  so  long 
as  such  demand  continues.  Apart  from  the  fact  that  the  teaching  of 
another  language,  preferably  one  with  a  grammatical  structure  different 
from  that  of  the  English  and  with  a  rich  literature,  is  justified  on  educa- 
tional grounds,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  demand  for  Ger- 
man instruction  from  German-born  citizens  is  both  natural  and  to  be 
welcomed.  The  resident  of  foreign  birth  who,  making  this  country  the 
home  of  his  adoption,  is  willing  that  his  children  should  grow  up  without 
recognition  of  the  natural  ties  binding  them  to  relatives  in  the  old  home, 
lacks  one  of  the  elements  which  go  to  make  good  citizenship. .  At  the  same 
time,  the  essential  purpose  of  the  American  school  system  is  to  form 
American  citizens,  and  all  proper  means  should  be  employed  to  make  of 
all  children  in  our  public  schools,  particularly  those  of  foreign  descent, 
men  and  women  whose  hearts  are  centered  in  our  life.  The  plan  followed 
in  some  cities  of  affording  instruction  in  German,  for  example,  only  in 
particular  districts,  tends  to  concentrate  German  residents  in  these  sec- 
exercises,  inasmuch  as  it  gives  pleasure  and  zest  and  produces  a  more  social 
atmosphere.  But  the  principal  aim,  as  we  have  intimated,  should  be  to  promote 
rhythm,  harmony,  and  to  reach  the  highest  spiritual  nature." — 5".  T.  Dutton, 
Superintendent  Public  Schools,  Brookline,  Mass. 

(4)  "Fitting  the  child  to  be  a  definite,  efficient  force  in  society  is  the  end 
of  education  by  the  state.  This  involves  the  training  of  all  his  powers  after  the 
Froebelian  notion.  It  also  involves  the  cultivation  of  a  sympathetic  compre- 
hension of  the  needs  and  conditions  of  society.  This  point  has  been  made  clear 
by  Dr.  Harris,  in  the  report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifteen.  The  superiority  of 
the  kindergarten  over  the  ordinary  primary  school  does  not  consist  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  tools  used,  the  gifts,  the  occupation,  the  circle  on  the  floor,  but 
of  the  fact  that  it  is  an  institution  of  which  the  child  is  an  integral  part.  He  is, 
while  in  the  kindergarten,  living  a  life  to  him  as  real  as  the  life  which  his  father 
leads,  or  you  or  I.  He  is  a  member  of  a  community  in  which  all  have  a  part,  and 
which  goes  through  seriously  the  regular  business,  amusements  and  duties  of 
life,  which  is  but  a  miniature  of  the  great  world,  and  by  this  actual  living  he 
is  fitted  to  be  a  potent  factor  in  society.  The  child  is  entitled  to  a  real  daily  life, 
and  he  whose  life  is  spent  in  absent  contemplation  of  the  past  or  in  abstract 
study  of  arts  that  men  use  in  real  life,  with  direct  contact  with  that  life,  is 
robbed  of  his  right,  while  society  is  robbed  of  a  trained  citizen.  This  real  and 
vital  connection  between  the  processes  of  education  and  the  civilization  into  which 
the  child  is  growing,  is  the  aim  of  the  new  education." — Charles  B.  Gilbert, 
Superintendent,  Public  Schools,  Nezvark,  N.  J.,  in  Education,  December,  1898. 

(5)  See  Article  III. 

I.3I 


lions,  and  thus  becomes  a  distinct  disadvantage  alike  to  them  and  to  the 
community. (6)  Such  instruction,  if  given  at  all,  should  be  offered  in  all 
the  schools  where  there  is  a  demand,  thus  giving  the  children  of  foreign 
and  native  descent  the  readiest  opportunity  of  mingling  in  the  same 
schools.  (7)  If  the  experience  of  other  cities  is  any  criterion,  the  demand 
for  instruction  in  their  own  language  on  the  part  of  foreign-born  citizens 
will  gradually  diminish,  and  the  question  of  giving  instruction  in  German 
will  be  determined  by  educational  considerations  alone. (8)  The  steady 
growth  of  the  commercial  spirit  and  the  admitted  need  of  careful  training 
for  business  pursuits  may  prove  important  factors  in  the  retention  of 
German  in  the  course  of  study,  as  well  as  in  the  introduction  of  Spanish. 
In  the  case  of  Spanish,  there  are  abundant  signs  throughout  the  country 
that  in  answer  to  public  recognition  of  its  importance,  instruction  in  this 
subject  will  be  included  in  some  grade  of  the  public  school  system  at  an 
early  day. 

The  teaching  of  Latin  through  one  or  two  years  of  the  elementary 

1    schools  has  been  a  decided  advantage,  not  only  for  those  who  continue  the 

'.  study  later,  but  for  the  great  mass  of  children  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 

,  grades  who  are  finding  in  it  an  excellent  substitute  for  the  more  formal 

instruction  in  English  grammar. 

The  board  of  education  has  wisely  introduced  nature  study  into  the 
elementary  schools,  but  no  adequate  effort  has  yet  been  made  to  plan  a 
consistent  course  in  this  subject  through  the  earlier  grades.  For  this  rea- 
son the  time  given  to  nature  study  has  seemed  to  many  teachers  largely 
wasted.  Yet  your  commission  believes  that  with  more  efficient  instruction, 
such  as  is  possible  when  greater  emphasis  is  placed  on  this  subject  in  the 
normal  school,  and  a  coherent  and  well  outlined  course  for  the  guidance 
of  teachers,  nature  study  both  in  the  simple  form  required  in  the  first 
grades  and  in  the  more  systematic  treatment  of  the  later  years  of  the 
elementary  school  will  prove  of  great  interest  and  value. 

(6)  Cincinnati,  for  example,  as  has  been  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Harris,  intro- 
duced German  principally  in  those  schools  located  in  the  sections  of  the  city 
most  largely  inhabited  by  foreign-born  residents.  This  method  has  resulted  in 
making  the  attendance  in  those  schools  almost  exclusively  of  children  of  German 
parentage,  who  are  thus  cut  off  from  the  advantages  of  association  with  English- 
speaking  children. 

(7)  The  best  example  of  this  is  offered  in  St.  Louis,  where  German,  as 
long  as  it  was  retained  in  the  school  curriculum,  was  taught  as  here  suggested. 

(8)  This  has  been  the  case  in  St.  Louis,  where  the  plan  of  instruction  just 
mentioned  led  to  a  rapid  assimilation  of  the  foreign  element,  with  a  natural 
cessation  of  the  demand  for  German  teaching. 


Drawing,  music(9),  and  physical  culture  have  been  pursued  for  some 
years  in  our  Chicago  schools,  and  these  studies  have  justified  themselves 
in  the  course.  Such  criticism  as  has  been  made  against  them  does  not 
invalidate  them  as  proper  subjects  for  elementary  work,  but  points,  rather, 
to  the  necessity  for  reform  in  the  method  of  supervision  and  of  teach- 
ing^10) The  most  important  suggestions  made  to  your  commission  in 
regard  to  special  subjects  concerned  the  instruction  in  manual  training 
and  domestic  economy. (n)  It  has  recently  been  reported  from  Germany 
that  constructive  work  is  being  taken  out  of  the  schools.  But  your  com- 
mission believes  that  it  should  be  given  at  least  a  cordial  and  thorough 
trial.  Experience  alone  can  demonstrate  its  success  or  failure,  its  degree 
of  usefulness  or  its  exact  place  in  the  curriculum.  The  experiment  is  well 
worth  making.  The  experience  of  other  American  cities  is  strongly  in 
tavor  of  extending  the  school  curriculum  in  these  lines. (12)  Much  has 
already  been  done  in  the  elementary  schools  in  manual  training,  and  the 
experiments  in  domestic  science,  made  possible  through  private  gifts,  have 
led  to  an  appropriation  by  the  Chicago  board  of  education  for  this  purpose. 
We  believe  that  much  more  attention  should  be  given  these  branches,  and 
that  "constructive  work"  should  find  a  place  in  each  grade  of  the  elementary 
school. (13)     Such  subjects,  however,  must  be  carefully  related  with  the 

(9)  "The  highest  results  cannot  be  reached,  especially  with  children  who  do 
not  hear  good  music  outside  of  the  school,  unless  the  instructor  or  other  persons 
interested  provide  for  the  occasional  execution  of  good  music  in  the  school  room. 
This  is  consistent  with  the  idea  consistently  stated  that  the  development  of  the 
musical  sense  and  the  ability  to  enjoy  music  is  not  second  in  importance  to  the 
power  to  execute,  considered  in  its  general  application,  inasmuch  as,  while  few 
will  attain  such  skill  in  the  rendition  of  music,  it  is  desirable  that  here  in  America, 
as  in  Germany,  all  the  people  become  lovers  of  music." — S.  T.  Button,  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools,  Brookline,  Mass. 

(10)  See  Article  III,  Section  3,  and  Article  VIII,  Section  4. 

(li)  "We  heartily  endorse  all  efforts  for  the  widening  of  the  scope  of  oppor- 
tunity for  self-expression  on  the  part  of  the  child.  To  this  end,  we  advise  the 
more  general  introduction  of  constructive  training  in  all  grades. "—The  George 
Howland  Club. 

(12)  Boston  and  Washington  furnish  full  proof  of  this  statement. 

(13)  "The  influence  of  the  manual  training  idea  is  felt  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  United  States,  and  is  spoken  of  by  nearly  all  educators  as  one 
of  the  most  important  factors  in  future  plans  of  education.  Those  who  have  had 
the  good  fortune  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  effect  of  manual  training  on  the 
pupil's  mind  will  readily  see  the  importance  of  this  branch  of  training  which  is 
practically  the  work  of  the  kindergarten  carried  into  the  upper  grade  school." — 
Frederick  Newton  Williams,  Kindergarten  Magazine,  April,  1898. 

"I  regard  the  introduction  of  manual  training  into  this  district  as  an  impera- 
tive necessity.  So  many  causes  operate  here  to  keep  boys  from  school  that  the 
attraction  of  manual  training  would  count  for  more  than  in  other  districts.     With 

133 


other  studies  of  the  course,  in  the  primary  and  grammar  grades,  to  secure 
an  unbroken  sequence  from  the  kindergarten.  Indeed,  in  the  kindergarten 
a  training  of  the  senses  may  be  found  which  is  a  basis  for  all  later  instruc- 
tion in  the  aesthetic  and  industrial  arts(14)  ;  and  with  the  general  estab- 
lishment of  kindergartens,  no  course  of  study  can  be  considered  coherent 
and  unified  that  does  not  offer  a  natural  progress  along  these  lines  from 
the  fourth  or  fifth  year  of  the  child's  life  at  least  to  the  end  of  the  ele- 
mentary school. 

While  making  these  recommendations  for  an  expansion  of  the  school 
curriculum,  that  involves  a  considerable  increase  in  expense,  your  commis- 
sion holds  that  greater  care  may  be  exercised  in  regard  to  the  cost 
of  equipment  and  instruction.  The  equipment,  for  example,  may  be  much 
more  simple  and  less  expensive  than  has  heretofore  been  the  rule.  It 
has  been  demonstrated  to  us,  for  example,  that  adequate  provision  can 
be  made  for  work  in  manual  training  at  a  considerably  less  cost  per  capita 
than  at  present ;  similar  economy  can  be  exercised  to  advantage  in  the 
establishment  of  domestic  science  rooms.  The  "constructive  work"  in  the 
lower  grades  need  cost  little  for  appliances  and  almost  nothing  for  ma- 
terial. Economy  along  this  line,  however,  will  not  reduce  the  cost  of  these 
branches  within  the  scope  of  what  the  public  is  willing  to  pay,  unless  the 

its  aid,  the  large  percentage  of  truancy  could  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  and  the 
increase  of  criminals  checked.  Statistics  of  this  district  prove  that  the  boys 
who  complete  the  grammar  schools  become  self-supporting  respectable  citizens." 
— A  Chicago  Principal. 

(14)  "I  wish  to  suggest  in  connection  with  this  article  a  general  principle  which 
I  think  serves  as  a  general  caption  for  any  detailed  scheme  covering  the  subjects 
of  physical,  aesthetic  and  manual  training,  and  it  is  this,  that  the  kindergarten 
contains  the  germs  of  all  higher  training  in  its  nature  study,  its  free  play,  its 
songs,  its  occupation  and  its  social  atmosphere.  Everything  which  is  begun  in 
the  kindergarten  should  be  continued,  its  form  changing  according  as  the  child 
life  merges  into  the  maturer  life  of  the  youth,  the  various  activities  named  above 
gradually  taking  more  serious  form  and  becoming  the  studies  of  the  elementary 
school.  This  gradual  shading  off  and  change  without  permitting  any  break, 
constitutes  the  great  problem  in  modern  elementary  teaching.  It  requires  on 
the  part  of  all  teachers  on  the  force,  from  the  kindergarten  to  the  high  school 
a  grasp  of  the  whole  course  of  study  and  some  knowledge  of  the  several  adapta- 
tions required  for  the  several  nascent  periods  through  which  the  child  passes. 
School  supervision  through  the  superintendent  and  his  assistants  only  reaches 
a  professional  standard  when  it  secures  for  all  teachers  a  sense  of  proportion 
and  perspective  as  regards  the  whole  course  of  study,  and  a  skillful  adaptation 
of  means  to  end  at  the  particular  point  in  the  child's  life  where  the  teaching  is 
given  with  special  reference  to  securing  spontaneity,  interest  and  the  best  possible 
endeavor." — S.  T.  Dutton,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Brooklinc,  Mass. 

134 


expense  of  instruction  be  likewise  diminished.  For  this  reason,  as  well 
as  for  the  sake  of  the  efficiency  in  the  instruction  itself,  we  believe  that 
these  studies,  as  well  as  the  aesthetic  arts  and  physical  culture  should  be 
taught  eventually  by  the  regular  teachers. (15) 

In  line  with  the  considerations  mentioned,  we  recommend,  further : 

SECTION  2. — THAT  DRAWING,  MUSIC  AND  PHYSICAL  CULTURE  BE  CON- 
SIDERED PROPER  STUDIES  FOR  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  AND  THAT 
INSTRUCTION  BE  GIVEN  IN  THEM  ACCORDING  TO  SUITABLE  PROVISIONS  ; 

These  studies  have  now  a  recognized  place  in  the  school  course,  and 
the  teaching  of  them  is  supported  by  those  best  acquainted  with  the  needs 
of  the  city(16),  as  well  as  by  the  general  sentiment  of  educators  throughout 
the  country.  (17) 

SECTION  3. — (a)  that  constructive  work  of  some  form  be  gradu- 
ally INTRODUCED  INTO  EACH  GRADE  OF  EVERY  ELEMENTARY 
SCHOOL  ;  AND  THAT  BELOW  THE  SEVENTH  GRADE  THIS  TAKE  THE  SAME 
FORM   FOR  BOYS  AND  GIRLS; 

(b)  THAT  IN  THE  SEVENTH  AND  EIGHTH  GRADES  THE  WORK 
BE  DIFFERENTIATED,  TAKING  FOR  THE  PRESENT  THE  FORM  OF  WOOD 
WORK   FOR  BOYS  AND  DOMESTIC   ECONOMY   FOR   GIRLS; 

(c)  THAT  FACILITIES  FOR  SUCH  INSTRUCTION  IN  THE  SEVENTH 
AND  EIGHTH  GRADES  BE  PROVIDED  AS  RAPIDLY  AS  POSSIBLE,  WITH  DUE 
REFERENCE  TO  ECONOMY  IN  THE  MATTER  BOTH  OF  EQUIPMENT  AND 
MATERIAL. 

The  introduction  of  "constructive  work"(18)  into  the  elementary  schools 
has  come  to  be  general  in  city  systems.     The  educational  results  aimed  at 

(!5)  This  is  the  rule  in  Washington,  where  these  special  studies  are  thor- 
oughly taught  by  the  regular  teachers,  a  plan  which  effects  a  great  saving  in  the 
cost  of  instruction. 

(16)  "We  believe  that  drawing,  music  and  physical  culture  are  essential  modes 
of  expression  and  development ;  that  each  should  be  retained  on  the  school  pro- 
gramme and  properly  correlated  with  all  other  subjects  and  processes  of  educa- 
tion."— The  George  Rowland  Club. 

(17)  "In  the  first  place,  there  is  industrial  and  aesthetic  drawing,  which  should 
have  a  place  in  all  elementary  school  work.  By  it  is  secured  the  training  of 
the  hand  and  eye.  Then,  too,  drawing  helps  in  all  the  other  branches  that 
require  illustration.  Moreover,  if  used  in  the  study  in  the  great  work  of  art  in 
the  way  hereinbefore  mentioned,  it  helps  to  cultivate  the  taste  and  prepare  the 
future  workman  for  a  more  useful  and  lucrative  career,  inasmuch  as  superior 
taste  commands  higher  wages  in  the  finishing  of  all  goods." — Committee  of 
Fifteen,  p.  51. 

(!8)  "A  large  number  of  educators  still  continue  to  regard  every  form  of 
manual   training  as  a  mere  concession  to  "bread  and  butter"  education.     But 

135 


in  this  form  of  instruction  are  the  same  for  boys  and  for  girls,  and  in  the 
iower  grades  at  least,  there  is  no  reason  for  differentiating  the  two.  After 
the  sixth  year  a  division  may  naturally  occur,  with  the  assignment  of  wood 
work  for  boys  and  domestic  economy,  including  housework,  cooking  and 
sewing  for  girls.  (19)     This  division,  however,  is  not  absolute(20),  for  much 

while  manual  constructive  work  may  contribute  quite  largely  to  utilitarianism, 
it  has  a  far  more  important  value  for  the  physical  and  mental  progress  of  the 
child.  In  its  three  phases  of  wood  work,  mechanical  drawing,  and  clay  modeling, 
it  reacts  most  beneficially  on  the  physical  hygiene  of  the  pupils.  It  furnishes  exer- 
cise and  recreation.  The  free  play  of  muscles  in  sawing,  the  swinging  of  the 
arms  in  hammering  and  planing  gives  to  every  child  a  vigorous  and  bounding 
physique,  and  develops  arms,  limbs,  chest  and  brain.  But  the  physical  benefits 
do  not  outweigh  in  the  least  the  worth  of  manual  and  constructive  work  as  a 
mental  and  moral  tonic.  Nothing  can  give  the  eye  a  better  training  in  accurate 
judgment  or  in  the  sense  of  beauty  and  fitness.  It  trains  the  child  to  discriminate 
sharply,  and  to  observe  accurately,  to  judge  rightly  and  to  make  comparisons  with 
precision." — Frederick  Eby,  in  Education,  April,.  1898. 

"In  my  judgment,  manual  training  should  not  be  limited  to  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades,  but  should  begin  in  the  kindergarten  with  the  simple  study  of 
form  from  objects  and  the  reproduction  in  paper  of  the  objects  presented,  and 
should  extend  in  a  series  of  carefully  graded  lessons  through  all  the  grades, 
leaving,  however,  the  heavier  tools,  such  as  the  plane,  for  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades.  By  these  means,  an  interest  is  kept  up  in  the  various  human  industries, 
sympathy  for  all  labor  is  created,  and  a  certain  degree  of  skill  is  developed ;  more- 
over, the  interest  of  the  pupils  in  their  school  is  greatly  enhanced.  Manual  train- 
ing has  often  proved  the  magnet  by  which  the  boys  at  the  restless  age  have  been 
kept  in  school  instead  of  leaving  for  some  gainful  occupation." — Charles  B.  Gil- 
bert, Superintendent  of  Schools,  Newark,  N.  J. 

"I  favor  the  more  general  introduction  of  manual  training  into  the  schools. 
In  my  judgment,  the  chief  justification  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance 
of  manual  training  in  the  schools  lies  in  the  admitted  fact  that  it  is  a  most  potent 
factor  in  intellectual  development.  If  this  judgment  be  correct,  then  other  con- 
siderations admitting  the  same,  the  scope  of  the  manual  training  should  be  greatly 
extended,  embracing  both  grammar  and  primary  classes." — A  Chicago  Superin- 
tendent. 

"I  need  not  dwell  upon  the  patent  fact  that  the  great  majority  of  boys  in 
public  schools  have  left  school  by  the  time  they  are  thirteen  years  old.  From 
the  best  information  that  I  can  get,  I  infer  that  no  more  than  one  out  of  six  of 
the  St.  Louis  boys  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen  is  at  school  any- 
where. Manual  training  would  keep  many  of  these  boys  at  school." — A.  F.  Mitn- 
son,  in  American  School  Board  Journal,  February,  1898. 

(!9)  "I  am  most  heartily  in  favor  of  introducing  manual  training  into  every 
school,  at  the  earliest  possible  time,  and  into  every  grade,  adapting  the  work  to 
the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  children — wood  work  for  all  boys,  making  it 
optional  for  the  girls;  cooking  and  sewing  for  the  girls." — A  Chicago  Principal. 

"Manual  training  gives  the  child  a  chance  to  know  himself.  The  more  numer- 
ous and  various  the  ways  the  child  tests  himself  during  the  period  of  his  elemen- 
tary education,  the  more  likely  he  is  to  know  in  which  field  he  can  best  serve 
his  generation.  The  choice  of  an  occupation,  the  definite  means  for  a  common 
service,  too  often  rests  upon  chance.     The  average  boy  or  girl  looking  for  work, 

136 


of  the  work  in  these  subjects,  more  particularly  in  their  connection  with 
other  studies,  should  be  opened  to  both  sexes.  The  theoretic  instruction 
in  cooking,  for  example,  in  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  chemistry  of  food, 
should  be  given  to  both  sexes,  although  only  girls  may  follow  up  this  in- 
struction in  its  practical  application. 

SECTION    4. THAT   THE   TEACHING  OF   THESE   SUBJECTS    BE    CONDUCTED 

AS  FAR  AS  PRACTICABLE  BY  THE  REGULAR  TEACHERS. 

The  teachers  in  the  Chicago  schools  are  not  trained  at  present  to  give 
instruction  in  the  special  subjects  of  the  course.  Your  commission  believes 
that  the  board  of  education  should  offer  opportunity  in  the  normal  school 
for  adequate  training  in  preparation  for  any  position  in  the  kindergartens 
and  the  elementary  schools.  If  the  additional  manual  training  high  schools 
which  we  have  recommended  are  opened  for  both  sexes,  and  if  a  proper 
two  years'  course  is  established  for  the  normal  school,  the  recommendation 
of  this  section  can  be  easily  carried  into  effect.     The  suggestion  has  been 

takes  what  comes  first  and  bids  fair  to  offer  a  living,  the  tendency  being  among 
thinking  people,  where  election  is  possible,  to  choose  occupations  not  likely  to 
interfere  with  white  hands.  The  case  of  round  pegs  in  square  holes  are  innumer- 
able."— Charles  B.  Gilbert,  in  Education,  December,  1898. 

"We  suggest  that  a  continuous  manual  training  be  introduced  in  all  the  grades 
of  the  public  schools  from  the  first  to  the  eighth  inclusive,  and  that  cooking  and 
sewing  be  included  in  such  training." — Every  Day  Club,  Chicago. 

(20)  "The  association  is  convinced  that  the  habits  of  accuracy,  industry,  con- 
sideration, energy  and  truthfulness,  as  well  as  the  general  usefulness  and  dis- 
cipline, which  result  from  this  method  of  training,  are  needed  fully  as  much 
by  girls  as  by  boys.  The  fact  that  women  are  called  to  deal  with  material  for 
food  and  clothing  which  permit  of  inaccuracy  and  carelessness  in  their  use  makes 
all  the  more  necessary  an  early  training  in  handling  materials,  such  as  wood, 
which  demand  precision  and  exactness.  The  association  believes  that  the  educa- 
tional methods  of  the  schools  of  Chicago  are  fortunately  tending  to  do  away 
with  the  old  time  pedagogical  error  of  separating  knowing  from  doing.  The 
dissatisfaction  with  the  public  school  system  which  still  exists  to  some  extent, 
can  be  removed  only  by  methods  which  bring  the  facts  used  as  the  basis  for  intel- 
lectual training  into  close  correlation  with  the  present  and  future  activities  of 
the  child.  Methods  of  teaching  cooking,  sewing  and  other  household  arts  have 
been  developed  of  recent  years,  so  that  these  subjects  have  true  educational 
value,  and  are  now,  in  the  opinion  of  the  association,  worthy  of  a  place  in  the 
public  school  curriculum.  The  experience  of  some  foreign  countries  and  still 
more  notably  of  some  American  cities,  seem  to  justify  the  hope  that  the  city  of 
Chicago  will  soon  take  steps  forward  in  this  direction." — The  Chicago  Association 
of  Collegiate  Alumnae. 


V37 


already  made  that  the  supervision  of  each  of  these  special  studies  in  the 
normal,  high,  and  elementary  schools,  be  under  the  charge  of  one  re- 
sponsible director.  (21) 

(21)   See  Article  III,   Section  3. 

"To  insure  the  success  of  any  subject,  one  supervisor  should  have  charge  of 
it  from  the  kindergarten  through  the  twelfth  grade.  Music  and  drawing  will 
more  surely  keep  out  of  the  realm  of  "fads"  when  they  are  unified  along  the 
lines  indicated." — Ella  F.  Young  Club,  Chicago. 


1.38 


Krsfornt 
(JTommtssionerg 


ARTICLE   IX 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends (x)  : 

SECTION     I. THAT    FOR    THE    PURPOSES    OF    SCHOOL    INSPECTION,    THE 

BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  DIVIDE  THE*  CITY  INTO  SPECIAL  INSPECTION  DIS- 
TRICTS, EACH  TO  INCLUDE  NOT  MORE  THAN  TEN  SCHOOLS  ; 

SECTION  2. — THAT  THE  MAYOR,  AFTER  THIS  POWER  IS  GIVEN  HIM,  AP- 
POINT FOR  EACH  INSPECTION  DISTRICT  FROM  AMONG  THE  RESIDENTS  OF 
THE  DISTRICT,  A  COMMITTEE  OF  SIX  RESIDENT  COMMISSIONERS,  THE 
MEMBERS  OF  THIS  COMMITTEE  TO  SERVE  WITHOUT  COMPENSATION, 
EACH  FOR  A  TERM  OF  THREE  YEARS  ;  TWO  TO  BE  APPOINTED  EACH  YEAR ; 

SECTION    3. THAT  THE  RESIDENT  COMMISSIONERS  BE  AUTHORIZED  AND 

DIRECTED  TO  VISIT  EACH  SCHOOL  OF  THE  GIVEN  DISTRICT,  TO  OBSERVE 
IN  DETAIL  THE  WORK  OF  EACH  SCHOOL,  THE  DISCIPLINE,  THE  SANITARY 
AND  OTHER  ARRANGEMENTS  OF  THE  BUILDING,  AND  TO  MAKE  REPORT 
AS  A   COMMITTEE  DIRECT  TO  THE   BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  ; 

SECTION  4. — THAT  AN  INSPECTOR,  SIMILAR  TO  THOSE  RECOMMENDED  IN 
ARTICLE  III,  BE  APPOINTED  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  AS  OCCASION 
MAY  REQUIRE,  TO  INVESTIGATE  AND  REPORT  UPON  THE  RECOMMENDA- 
TIONS OF  THE   COMMITTEES  OF  RESIDENT   COMMISSIONERS. 


There  is  a  marked  tendency  in  American  cities  to  make  the  school  sys- 
tem more  and  more  a  matter  of  expert  control.  This  tendency,  your 
commission  in  its  recommendations  has  recognized  as  the  logical  outcome 
of  experience,  and  we  believe  that  no  other  principle  is  so  general  in  its 
application  to  school  affairs.  The  difference  between  the  New  England 
town,  with  a  school  trustee  supervising  each  teacher  in  its  employ,  and 
the  city  of  Cleveland  with  one  superintendent,  who  has  practically  absolute 

(i)  "I  commend  this  article  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  board. 
Besides  the  direct  advantages  to  be  derived  by  committee  visitation  and  reports 
upon  the  observed  conditions  of  the  schools,  the  plan  will,  if  adopted,  without 
question  serve  to  popularize  the  schools,  and  to  bring  them  in  closer  touch  with 
the  people."— D.  R.  Cameron,  Ex-President  Chicago  Board  of  Education. 

139 


power  in  educational  affairs,  measures  the  extreme  growth  of  this  idea. 
It  is  not,  however,  to  be  accepted  without  safeguards  from  the  people. 
When  larger  powers  are  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  superintendent,  whose 
judgment  is  modified  only  by  his  assistants,  and  these  in  turn  have  been 
imbued  in  a  great  measure  with  his  own  ideas  of  instruction  and  manage- 
ment, there  is  distinct  danger  that  the  schools  will  fail  to  respond  fairly  to 
the  ideas  of  the  people.  Tf  the  system  of  public  instruction  is  not  readily 
affected  by  public  opinion,  a  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  naturally  arises  that 
may  lead  to  radical  changes  through  the  appointment  of  new  members  to 
the  board  of  education,  and  such  changes,  it  is  safe  to  say,  are  in  general 
prejudicial  to  the  interest  of  public  education. 

The  administration  of  school  affairs  is  only  part  of  the  larger  question 
of  government,  in  which  we  find  by  no  means  so  universal  a  recognition 
of  the  principle  of  expert  control.     To  mention  one  illustration :      The 
whole  administrative  system  of  the  Prussian  government  was  formerly 
based  on  this  idea,  which  experience  showed  did  not  secure  the  desired 
result.     As  long  as  it  was  in  vogue,  the  system  of  administration  was  over- 
conservative,  rigid,  and  not  adapted  to  the  changing  needs  of  the  people. 
With  the  introduction  of  the  lay  element  came  rapid  improvement  of 
Prussian  methods.     Similar  cases  can  be  found  in  educational  history. 
The  English  universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  as  long  as  they  were 
governed  entirely  by  their  own  corporate  bodies,  were  unprogressive,  and 
the  administration  was  so  full  of  abuses  that  it  became  necessary  for  a 
.-    government  commission  to  intervene.     It  is  safe  to  say  that  any  educational^ 
\    system  controlled  wholly  by  the  teaching  force  will  be  too  conservative.  | 
The  larger  questions  of  educational  policy  must  be  left  to  the  whole  com- 
\    munity  from  which  representatives  should  be  chosen  to  consider  questions 
•  of  public  instruction  and  make  recommendations  to  the  proper  authorities. 
_The  need  of  such  representatives  has  been  widely  recognized.     The  city 
of  Berlin,  for  example,  has  to-day  popular  committees  aggregating  a  very 
large  membership  to  look  after  the  educational  interests  of  special  dis- 
tricts.    Similar  committees  are  established  in  other  continental  cities.     The 
appointment  of  school  visitors  to  perform  a  similar  function (2),  was  pro- 
posed in  Boston  and  the  new  charter  of  New  York  has  authorized  the 
selection  of  a  number  of  citizens  to  act  in  this  capacity  for  the  different 

(2)  "Said  school  visitors  shall  serve  without  pay;  shall  visit  the  schools 
whenever  they  deem  proper  and  study  the  proceedings  therein,  and  shall,  in 
the  whole  or  by  districts,  meet  from  time  to  time  as  they  deem  proper,  or  on 
the  call  of  the  superintendent;  and  may  from  time  to  time  make  such  reports 
and  recommendations  to  the  school  committee  as  said  citizens  may  deem 
proper." — Proposed  Boston  School  Law,  1S0S.  Sections  2  and  4. 

140 


sections  of  the  city.!3)  The  importance  of  this  lay  element  in  the  educa- 
tional system  has  strongly  impressed  itself  on  your  commission.  It  will 
stimulate  popular  interest,  do  away  largely  with  the  danger  of  public  in- 
difference toward  the  administration  of  the  schools,  and  will  supply  an 
adequate  substitute  for  general  representation  on  a  large  board  of  educa- 
tion.    We  accordingly  recommend : 

SECTION     I. THAT    FOR    THE     PURPOSES    OF    SCHOOL    INSPECTION,    THE 

PjOARD  OF  EDUCATION  DIVIDE  THE  CITY  INTO   SPECIAL  INSPECTION   DIS- 
TRICTS, EACH   TO  INCLUDE  NOT  MORE  THAN  TEN  SCHOOLS  J 

The  board  of  education,  on  the  suggestion  of  the  superintendent,  should 
have  the  power  to  divide  the  city  into  districts  suitable  for  this  purpose. 
Each  school  district  as  at  present  organized  will  include  probably  about 
three  of  these  inspection  districts.     Not  more  than  ten  schools  at  the  most 

(3)  "Section  1,097.  A  school  board  in  its  discretion  may  divide  the  borough 
or  boroughs  under  its  charge  into  as  many  school  inspection  districts  as  it  may 
deem  necessary,  which  districts  must  be  contiguous  and  as  near  as  may  be 
of  equal  population ;  and  at  once  upon  the  making  of  such  districts  it  shall  file 
maps  of  the  same  duly  authenticated  by  the  chairman  of  the  school  board,  in 
the  office  of  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York.  School  inspection  districts 
existing  in  any  of  the  boroughs  at  the  time  this  act  takes  effect  shall  continue 
as  such  until  changed  by  the  provisions  of  this  section ;  and  all  inspectors  of 
common  schools  who  have  been  duly  appointed  to  serve  therein  shall  serve  out 
the  terms  for  which  they  were  respectively  appointed  and  their  successors 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  mayor  as  their  terms  respectively  expire,  for  the  like 
period  of  five  years.  If  any  school  board,  pursuant  to  the  powers  conferred 
upon  it  by  this  chapter  shall  have  divided  or  re-divided  its  territory  into  school 
districts,  then  the  mayor  shall,  within  sixty  days  thereafter,  appoint  in  and 
for  each  of  the  school  inspection  districts  of  the  boroughs  so  divided,  five 
inspectors  of  common  schools,  to  hold  office  respectively  as  may  be  designated 
in  their  letters  of  appointment,  for  one,  two,  three,  four  and  five  years  from 
the  first  day  of  October  next  following  their  appointments.  Upon  the  expira- 
tion of  their  respective  terms  the  mayor  shall  appoint  their  successors  for  the 
full  term  of  five  years.  Subject  to  the  conditions  of  contiguity  and  equality  of 
population  as  hereinbefore  prescribed,  each  school  board  shall  have  power  every 
five  years,  if  it  shall  have  once  divided  its  territory  into  inspection  districts, 
again  to  divide  it  into  such  districts  and  to  make  changes  in  existing  districts,  or 
in  their  number;  and  if  such  number  of  districts  be  increased,  the  mayor  shall 
forthwith  appoint,  in  the  same  manner  and  with  like  effect  as  herein  provided,  as 
many  additional  inspectors  of  common  schools  as  may  be  necessary  to  afford  five 
inspectors  in  each  district.  Such  additional  inspectors  shall  be  subject  to  the  same 
bylaws  and  regulations  as  govern  the  other  inspectors  in  the  same  borough,  and 
shall  perform  the  same  duties.  All  inspectors  of  common  schools  shah  serve 
without  pay.  and  shall  be  residents  of  the  district  in  and  for  which  they  arc 
appointed.  Any  vacancy  in  the  office  of  common  schools  caused  by  death,  resig- 
nation or  otherwise,  shall  be  filled  by  the  mayor  for  the  unexpired  term.  The 
inspectors  appointed  for  the  respective  districts  in  any  borough  shall  organize 
in  every  year  on  the  second  Monday  of  October,  by  the  election  of  two  of 
their  members  as  chairman  and  secretary,  respectively;  and  they  shall  meet 
as  often  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  efficient  performance  of  the  duties  imposed 
upon   them." — New    York   Charter. 


can  be  put  with  advantage  under  the  charge  of  each  committee,  since  these 
bodies  should  represent  the  local  sentiment  under  particular  conditions, 
and  if  more  than  ten  schools  were  included,  the  conditions  would  vary  too 
greatly  within  one  district  for  the  recommendations  to  prove  directly  and 
specifically  useful. 

SECTION  2. THAT  THE  MAYOR,  AFTER  THIS  POWER  IS  GIVEN  HIM,  AP- 
POINT FOR  EACH  INSPECTION  DISTRICT  FROM  AMONG  THE  RESIDENTS  OF 
THE  DISTRICT,  A  COMMITTEE  OF  SIX  RESIDENT  COMMISSIONERS, 
THE  MEMBERS  OF  THIS  COMMITTEE  TO  SERVE  WITHOUT  COMPENSA- 
TION, EACH  FOR  A  TERM  OF  THREE  YEARS  ;  TWO  TO  BE  APPOINTED  EACH 
YEAR  ; 

Theoretically  it  might  seem  best  that  these  committees  be  selected  by 
the  residents  of  the  particular  district.  This  might  make  them  more  truly 
representative  of  local  needs  and  opinions.  There  are,  however,  obvious 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  such  a  plan,  and  your  commission  considers  that 
the  interests  of  the  community  will  be  well  served,  if  the  appointment  of 
these  committees  rests  with  the  mayor.  The  membership  of  the  committees 
can  be  indicated  with  sufficient  definiteness  after  a  consideration  of  their 
duties.  If  the  committees  were  large  they  might  fail  of  concerted  action 
in  their  recommendations,  or  include  persons  who  have  not  time  or  inclina- 
tion to  fulfill  the  functions  assigned  to  them.  Moreover,  the  number  should 
be  limited  so  as  to  prevent  the  assignment  of  the  supervision  of  any  school 
to  a  particular  member  of  the  committee,  since  this  might  lead  to  a  rivalry 
of  individual  members  in  securing  concessions  or  favors  for  the  schools 
assigned  them.  The  term  of  office  should  be  long  enough  to  enable  the 
committee  to  become  intimately  acquainted  with  the  district. 

SECTION    3. THAT  THE  RESIDENT  COMMISSIONERS  BE  AUTHORIZED  AND 

DIRECTED  TO  VISIT  EACH  SCHOOL  OF  THE  GIVEN  DISTRICT,  TO  OBSERVE 
IN  DETAIL  THE  WORK  OF  EACH  SCHOOL,  THE  DISCIPLINE,  THE  SANITARY 
AND  OTHER  ARRANGEMENTS  OF  THE  BUILDING,  AND  TO  MAKE  REPORTS 
AS  A   COMMITTEE  DIRECT  TO  THE  BOARD  OF   EDUCATION  \ 

The  duties  of  these  committees  should  be  to  examine  the  schools  and 
to  make  recommendations.  To  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  trivial  or  personal 
recommendations,  the  suggestions  in  regard  to  the  schools  of  each  district 
should  come  to  the  board  of  education  from  the  committee  as  a  whole.  (4) 

(i)  "Section  1.098.  The  duties  of  the  inspectors  of  common  schools  are 
stated  and  fixed  to  be  as  follows:  In  their  respective  districts  they  shall  visit 
and  inspect  at  least  once  in  every  quarter,  all  the  schools  in  the  district,  in  respect 


SECTION  4. THAT  AN   INSPECTOR,  SIMILAR  TO  THOSE  RECOMMENDED  IN 

ARTICLE  III,  BE  APPOINTED  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  AS  OCCASION 
MAY  REQUIRE,  TO  INVESTIGATE  AND  REPORT  UPON  THE  RECOMMENDA- 
TIONS OF  THE  COMMITTEES  OF  RESIDENT  COMMISSIONERS.  (B) 

Granted  that  the  force  of  superintendents  authorized  by  the  board  is 
adequate  to  carry  out  the  policy  of  the  superintendent  of  instruction,  your 
commission  believes  that  the  recommendations  of  the  school  visitors  should 
be  reviewed  when  necessary  by  a  separate  official.  In  so  far  as  these  direct 
representatives  of  the  people  have  no  occasion  to  report  minor  failures  in 
administrative  details,  the  suggestions  they  make  will  be  in  the  form  of 
general  criticisms  on  the  educational  policy  of  the  city  as  applied  to  their 
particular  districts,  and  these,  we  believe,  should  be  submitted  to  an  im- 
partial expert. 

to  punctual  and  regular  attendance  of  the  pupils  and  teachers,  the  number  and 
fidelity  of  the  teachers,  the  studies,  progress,  order  and  discipline  of  the  pupils ; 
the  cleanliness,  safety,  warmness,  ventilation  and  comfort  of  school  premises ; 
and  whether  or  not  the  provisions  of  the  school  laws  in  respect  to  the  teaching 
of  sectarian  doctrines  or  the  use  of  sectarian  books  have  been  violated,  and  shall 
call  the  attention  of  the  board  of  education,  or  of  the  proper  school  board  of  the 
borough,  as  the  case  may  be,  without  delay,  to  every  matter  requiring  official 
action.  Every  board  of  inspectors  shall,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  January. 
April,  July  and  October  of  each  year,  make  a  written  report  to  the  proper  school 
board  in  respect  to  the  condition  of  the  schools,  the  efficiency  of  teachers,  and 
wants  of  the  district,  especially  in  regard  to  schools  and  school  premises." — New 
York  Charter. 

(5)  "I  think,  also,  that  the  suggestion  that  'an  inspector  as  may  be  needed, 
be  appointed  by  the  board  of  education  to  investigate  and  to  report  upon  the 
recommendations  of  each  committee  of  school  visitors,'  is  an  admirable  one. 
It  is  evidently  vitally  important  that  the  public  schools  shall  be  kept  in  touch  with 
the  public  and  that  they  should  command  both  public  interest  and  public  con- 
fidence. The  scheme  of  school  visitors  as  ordinarily  applied,  is  good  as  far  as 
it  goes.  I  think  your  suggestion  of  a  special  inspector,  to  follow  up  their  reports, 
promises  to  give  to  the  system  just  the  element  that  it  needs  to  make  it  a  valuable 
factor  in  the  work  of  the  schools."— Seth  Low,  President  Columbia  University. 


143 


Ctttzijoofcs 


ARTICLE    X 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends  in  regard  to  the  text-books 
of  the  public  schools : 

That  the  superintendent  of  schools,  under  the  present  rules,  be 
directed  to  consider  carefully  the  text-books  in  use  in  the 
city,  with  the  view  of  reducing  the  number  of  the  required 
books,  and  of  giving,  at  the  same  time,  the  teacher  more  lib- 
erty of  choice  within  the  limitations  of  the  course  of  study. 


We  have  already  expressed  our  belief  that  the  choice  of  text-books 
for  use  in  the  public  schools  rests  naturally  with  the  superintendent.  Ex- 
perience in  many  cities  has  shown  that  just  in  proportion  as  the  board  of 
education  undertakes  this  detail  of  school  administration,  difficulties  arise 
which  impair  the  efficiency  of  the  system.  No  board  of  education  is  com- 
petent to  choose  the  text-books  best  adapted  for  school  use.  The  problem 
is  distinctly  one  for  expert  decision,  and  should  be  left  to  the  superintendent. 
His  recommendation,  made  after  due  consultation  with  his  assistants, 
should  be  followed  in  all  cases.  What  is  true  of  text-books  is  also  true  of 
other  equipment,  such  as  reference  libraries,  maps,  and  general  school 
supplies.  Such  a  rule  as  has  been  proposed (x),  would  be  welcomed,  we 
believe,  by  the  members  of  the  board  themselves,  for  it  would  free  them 
from  much  annoying  pressure  on  the  part  of  representatives  of  various 
publishing  interests.  No  one  can  follow  the  history  of  the  Chicago  board 
in  the  matter  of  text-books  and  school  supplies  without  being  impressed 
with  the  serious  waste  of  time  involved  in  the  present  method  of  selection. 
it  has  led,  at  the  best,  to  much  fruitless  consideration  of  these  questions  by 
members  of  the  board,  and  at  the  worst,  to  an  effort  to  exert  undue  influence 
on  their  decision. (2)     The  change  recommended  should  be  favorably  re- 

(i)   Sec  Article  III,  Section  i  c. 

(2)  "As  to  text-books  a  great  many  members  of  my  school  committees  have 
always  voted  conscientiously.  Of  books  whose  sale  is  not  large — high  school 
books,  reference  books,  supplementary  reading — the  selections  have  usually  been 

144 


garded  also  by  publishing  houses,  as  it  would  gradually  diminish  the  effort 
necessary  to  present  fairly  the  claims  of  their  respective  books,  and  would 
lead  to  a  more  just  and  impartial  choice  between  them. 

If  these  considerations  hold  true,  we  may  reasonably  conclude  that 
under  the  plan  hitherto  followed,  minor  abuses  have  arisen.  Your  com- 
mission believes  that  in  some  instances,  text-books  and  various  kinds  of 
school  equipment  have  been  adopted  which  are  not  needed,  or  were  not 
carefully  chosen,  or  for  which,  under  a  progressive  course  of  study  there 
is  no  longer  any  necessity. (3)  If  it  is  a  difficult  matter  at  present  to  secure 
the  adoption  of  particular  text-books,  it  is  almost  equally  difficult  to  have 
them  dropped  from  the  list.  To  secure  freedom  for  the  superintendent 
in  the  choice  of  text-books,  we  believe  that  in  school  legislation  this  function 
should  be  assigned  clearly  and  fully  to  him.  A  general  disposition  on  the 
part  of  the  members  to  follow  his  advice,  and  even  a  formal  ruling  of  the 
board  of  education  to  this  effect,  is  not  a  sufficient  guarantee,  since  in  either 
case  the  board  will  be  free,  under  a  suspension  of  the  rules  or  otherwise,  to 
act   contrary   to   the   superintendent's   recommendations.      Pending   final 

made  on  the  recommendation  of  myself  and  the  teachers  who  are  to  use  the 
books.  The  case  is  entirely  different  with  books  whose  sale  is  large  and  profit- 
able, such  as  readers,  arithmetics,  geographies,  grammars,  copy-books,  and  spell- 
ing-books. The  rival  publishers'  agents  divide  the  committee  into  two  or  three 
hostile  camps,  and  arouse  an  anxiety  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  school  committee 
for  the  success  of  their  side  only  less  intense  than  the  agents  themselves  feel. 

"I  have  learned  to  keep  out  of  book  fights.  I  hasten  to  profess  neutrality  and 
to  maintain  a  dignified  reserve  on  the  question,  even  to  the  extent  of  displeasing 
my  friends  who  really  desire  my  advice  as  to  which  is  the  best  book.  Doubtless 
this  confession  will  read  to  some  like  the  words  of  a  coward.  But  why  should  a 
superintendent  ruin  his  chances  of  success  in  things  more  vital  to  the  schools 
than  the  use  of  this  or  that  arithmetic? 

"I  am  on  good  terms  with  book  agents.  I  find  them  always  genial  and  well 
informed.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  chat  with  them,  but  it  will  not  do  to  make  them  any 
promises. 

"The  larger  book  houses  employ  two  kinds  of  agents :  the  skirmishers  and  the 
beaters-up  of  the  bush,  and  the  men  who  do  the  heavy  work  when  the  crisis  comes. 
The  latter  usually  keep  away  from  me.  If  they  meet  me,  they  hasten  to  say 
that  'they  respect  my  position,  and  will  be  careful  not  to  involve  me.' 

"Much  has  been  said  about  corruption  in  the  relations  between  publishing- 
houses  and  school  boards.  My  observation  has  been  that  it  all  depends  on  the 
moral  character  of  the  board.  Publishers  will  not  resort  to  means  lower  than 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  obtain  trade,  and  I  have  known  some  to  refuse  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  book  contests  because  of  the  dishonesty  of  the  text-book 
committee.  The  agents  of  most  of  our  publishing  houses  are  college-bred  men, 
high-minded,  and  are  willing  to  put  their  business  on  as  high  a  plane  as  school 
boards  will  permit  them.  In  short,  where  school  boards  are  pure,  the  text- book 
business  is  honorably  conducted."— Confessions  of  Three  Superintendents  in 
Atlantic  Monthly,  November,  1898. 

(3)  "Since  our  best  opportunities  for  permitting  the  child  to  express  himself 
with  brush,  crayon,  pencil  and  pen  do  not  come  when  he  is  required  to  use  a  book, 
we  would  suggest  that  drawing  books  and  writing  books  be  discarded."— Ella  F. 
Young  Club. 

145 


legislative  action,  which  will  give  this  power  to  the  superintendent,  we 
believe  that  much  can  be  accomplished  if  the  board  of  education  will  support 
a  vigorous  educational  policy  in  this  particular.  The  superintendent  should 
be  entirely  free  in  the  choice  of  text-books,  except  that  his  action  should  be 
subject  to  revision  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  board.  Either  under  this 
provision  or  under  the  present  rule  requiring  the  sanction  of  a  majority  of 
the  board  for  the  adoption  of  text-books  he  should  be  directed  to  revise  the 
present  list  of  text-books. 

He  will  find,  we  believe,  that  more  text-books  are  now  required  than  are 
necessary  for  school  purposes,  a  condition  which  imposes  improper  expense 
en  the  public.  Furthermore,  the  rigid  requirement  of  certain  text-books 
for  all  grades  unduly  hampers  the  individual  teacher,  who  has  the  definite 
problem  of  accomplishing  certain  educational  results  with  a  given  number 
of  pupils  during  a  given  period.  In  so  far  as  the  teacher  lacks  ability  or  is 
deficient  in  preparation  for  his  work,  close  adherence  to  a  good  text-book 
may  be  necessary.  Our  Chicago  teachers  have,  however,  furnished  no 
better  proof  of  increasing  efficiency  than  by  manifesting  their  desire  to  be 
in  a  measure  freed  from  such  restrictions  and  to  be  allowed  more  liberty 
in  working  out  in  each  case  the  specific  problem  of  the  particular  grade  and 
school.  Your  commission  is  not  prepared  to  recommend  an  open  text- 
book list,  but  we  hold  that,  considering  the  great  difference  between  schools 
in  various  sections  of  the  city,  and  the  different  individuality  of  the  teachers, 
much  more  latitude  in  this  regard  should  be  granted  principals  and  teachers 
than  is  now  the  rule. 


MG 


iT1)c  iSbrning  ~rf)ools  ant) 
a  jFrrr  ?lrrturr  *PStnn 


ARTICLE    XI 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends  in  regard  to  evening 
schools  and  free  lectures^1) 

(i)  THAT  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  APPOINT  A  SPECIAL  COMMITTEE 
TO  CONSIDER  THE  PROBLEMS  CONNECTED  WITH  EVENING  SCHOOLS (2) 
AND   OTHER   SUPPLEMENTARY   EDUCATIONAL   AGENCIES. 

(2)  THAT  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  APPROPRIATE  FOR  THE  COMING 
SCHOOL  YEAR  A  SUM  NOT  TO  EXCEED  $10,000,  TO  BE  EXPENDED  FOR  FREE 
EVENING  LECTURES,  ACCORDING  TO  THE  SYSTEM  SO  SUCCESSFULLY 
INTRODUCED  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

(3)  THAT  AN  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENT  BE  PLACED  IN  CHARGE 
OF  THE  FREE  LECTURE  SYSTEM,  OF  EVENING  SCHOOLS,  AND  OF  VACATION 
SCHOOLS. 

We  recognize  that  evening  schools  as  they  are  at  present  organized 
in  Chicago  are  fulfilling  a  valuable  function,  but  we  believe  that  much 
greater  results  can  be  accomplished  in  these  schools  if  the  board  of  educa- 
tion will  endeavor  to  determine  what  the  community  requires  beyond  the 
opportunities  now  afforded  in  the  day  schools. 

The  evening  school  has  come  to  be  recognized  as  a  legitimate,  permanent 
and  necessary  part  of  our  public  school  system.  It  has  been  adopted  in  one 
form  or  another  in  all  American  cities  and  in  all  foreign  cities,  where  the 

C1)   See  Appendix  D. 

(2)  "With  proper  provisions  for  accommodations  and  supplies,  competent 
teachers  and  good  management,  there  is  no  doubt  that  evening  schools  will  take 
rank  with  day  schools,  and  can  be  made  a  credit  to  every  community.  In  the 
face  of  the  annual  influx  by  immigration,  further  and  more  pertinent  provisions 
by  law  are  necessary  to  convert  the  great  mass  of  foreign-born  illiterate  persons 
into  intelligent  and  industrious  citizens." — Report  Massachusetts  State  Board  of 
Education,  1883. 

"Of  evening  high  schools  there  appears  but  one  sentiment ;  wherever  properly 
maintained  they  have  justified  the  most  liberal  expenditure.  In  New  York,  Bos- 
ton, Cincinnati,  Brooklyn,  and  other  cities,  the  reports  show  an  increased  public 
interest,  which,  to  a  great  degree,  is  the  true  criterion  of  the  good  or  ill  manage- 
ment of  this  class  of  work.  The  curriculum  of  the  New  York  Evening  High 
School,  while  co-extensive  with  that  of  the  high  schools  of  the  state,  has  success- 


community  has  recognized  education  to  be  a  public  function.  A  general 
agreement  has  not  been  reached  among  school  authorities  as  to  the  exact 
scope  of  these  schools,  but  a  careful  consideration  of  the  purpose  and  needs 
of  our  public  educational  system,  reveals  certain  principles  that  must  under- 
lie a  satisfactory  policy  on  this  question. 

Our  American  communities  have  undertaken  to  provide  facilities  for 
elementary  and  secondary  education  for  the  use  of  the  entire  community. 
By  our  compulsory  school  legislation  we  admit  the  right  of  the  community 
to  insist  that  these  facilities  shall  be  utilized  by  the  parents  in  our  society, 
at  least  to  the  extent  of  sending  their  children  to  school  between  the  years 
of  six  and  fourteen.  It  seems  plain,  therefore,  that  no  organization  of 
evening  schools  should  be  adopted  which  offers  a  premium  to  these  parents 
to  keep  their  children  out  of  school  during  the  day  time,  hoping  to  comply 
with  the  letter  of  the  law  by  sending  them  to  evening  schools.  Yet  under 
present  conditions,  many  parents  need  the  small  earnings  of  the  children 
who  have  become  twelve  and  thirteen  years  of  age,  to  enable  the  family 
to  exist  at  all,  and  in  these  exceptional  cases,  facilities  should  be  offered  in 
our  night  schools  for  such  children  to  get  the  modicum  of  education  which 
can  be  obtained  between  the  years  of  six  and  fourteen.  In  such  a  com- 
munity as  Chicago,  moreover,  a  large  portion  of  the  population  has  brought 

fully  maintained  advanced  courses  in  collegiate  work." — Thos.  W.  Bicknell,  N. 
E.  A.  Proceedings,  1884,  p.  67. 

"The  object  of  public  school  education  being  to  secure  a  fair  degree  of  intel- 
ligence in  all  members  of  the  community,  the  evening  schools  are  designed  to 
supplement  the  day  schools — to  clear  up  and  rake  after  them — by  giving  the  op- 
portunity for  children,  who  have  been  obliged  to  leave  school  before  they  have 
acquired  knowledge  to  study  profitably  by  themselves,  to  receive  instruction  suf- 
ficient to  enable  them  to  use  the  public  library  to  advantage,  read  the  magazines 
and  other  periodicals,  with  intelligence,  to  study  the  various  works,  not  so 
numerous,  by  which  science  is  made  easy  and  brought  within  the  intelligence  of 
the  ordinary  reader,  and  thus  to  become  self-taught." — Albert  P.  Marble,  N.  E. 
A.  Proceedings,  1887,  p.  188. 

"This  brings  me  to  the  consideration  of  the  importance  of  establishing  free 
evening  schools  in  all  our  large  towns  and  cities,  as  a  means  to  check  or  modify 
adult  illiteracy,  and  also  the  equal  importance  of  establishing  free  industrial  even- 
ing drawing  schools  in  all  our  manufacturing  cities  for  the  benefit  of  their  un- 
skilled mechanics  and  citizens.  It  is  possible  some  may  argue  that  these  people 
would  never  enter  the  schools,  giving  as  a  reason,  that  they  would  be  ashamed 
to  acknowledge  their  ignorance,  and  therefore,  their  establishment  would  prove 
a  useless  and  expensive  experiment.  But  from  personal  knowledge  and  expe- 
rience, I  am  persuaded  that  such  would  not  be  the  case.  In  the  evening  classes 
which  are  held  in  some  of  the  schools  in  Boston  may  be  found  hundreds  of  men 
and  women  who.  under  a  corps  of  efficient  teachers,  are  instructed  in  those 
branches  of  education  which  bear  more  directly  upon  the  business  in  which  they 
are  engaged  during  the  day.  Or,  if  the  pupils  require  it,  they  can  have  an  ele- 
mentary general  education.  During  the  winter  months  some  of  these  schools 
are  opened  five  evenings  each  week,  from  half-past  seven  to  half-past  nine,  the 
term  lasting  for  a  period  of  five  months." — George  H.  Bartlctt,  N,  E.  A.  Pro- 
ceedings, 1888,  p.  608. 

148 


its  children  into  the  city  without  this  elementary  education,  which  we  have 
come  to  regard  as  the  essential  minimum.  For  these  children,  also,  facili- 
ties for  obtaining  the  elements  of  education  should  be  offered.  We  may 
assume,  so  far  that  our  system  of  night  schools  ought  to  supply  the  instruc- 
tion needed  by  the  above  described  classes  of  children. 

Another  aspect  of  the  matter  would  seem  equally  clear ;  it  is  a  duty  of 
the  community,  which  undertakes  to  offer  free  schooling  beyond  the  ele- 
ments to  all  the  children  in  the  community  whose  parents  are  so  situated 
that  they  can  afford  to  send  their  children  to  the  day  schools  for  one,  two, 
three,  or  four  years  beyond  the  elementary  grade,  to  provide  these  facilities 
also  for  those  children  who  are  not  able  to  avail  themselves  of  the  day 
schools.  In  other  words,  the  fact  that  a  parent  is  not  able  to  send  his  boy 
of  fifteen  or  sixteen  to  the  day  schools  ought  not  to  deprive  him  of  the 
advantage  of  secondary  education,  which  at  the  cost  of  the  whole  com- 
munity is  offered  to  his  more  favored  associates.  Our  system  of  night 
schools  should  afford  secondary  instruction  as  far  as  possible  to  all  who 
desire  it.  This  means  that  we  must  duplicate  practically  our  entire  free 
school  system  in  a  series  of  evening  schools  for  the  benefit  of  those  children 
who  are  not  able  to  attend  the  day  schools.  The  evening  high  school,  with 
a  free  course  of  study,  is  just  as  much  a  legitimate  and  necessary  part  of 
our  scheme  of  education  as  the  day  high  school.  This  principle  is  recog- 
nized in  all  other  countries  which  have  accepted  education  as  a  public 
function.  Thus  in  Germany,  in  Austria,  in  Italy,  in  France,  and  of  late 
in  England,  the  so-called  "supplementary"  or  "further  progress"  or  "con- 
tinuation" schools,  illustrate  this  attempt  to  duplicate  in  the  evening  the 
facilities  of  the  secondary  day  schools. 

To  accomplish  in  the  evening  schools  the  purpose  thus  outlined,  the 
whole  system  as  at  present  organized  needs  revision.  The  board  of  educa- 
tion has  recently  taken  a  wise  step  in  its  rule  that  no  day  teachers  should  be 
employed  in  the  evening  schools  except  under  special  circumstances.  Your 
commission  feels  assured  that  if  the  board  of  education  will  undertake  a 
thorough-going  investigation,  it  will  discover  the  need  of  other  changes 
— in  respect  to  the  proportion  of  teachers  to  pupils,  in  regard  to  salaries, 
and  more  particularly  in  regard  to  the  course  of  study.  The  problem  is 
a  difficult  one,  and  we  believe  that  it  will  not  be  satisfactorily  solved  until 
an  additional  assistant  superintendent  is  employed  for  evening  schools.  As 
the  conditions  of  the  vacation  schools  are  in  many  respects  similar  to  those 
of  the  evening  school,  one  man  might,  with  economy,  be  put  in  charge 
of  both,  and  also  of  the  free  lecture  system  recommended  below. 

The  full  function  and  purpose  of  the  evening  school  has  not  yet  been 

149 


described.  It  should  not  attempt  merely  to  duplicate  the  facilities  of  the 
day  schools,  but  it  should  to  some  degree  bring  to  the  adult  population  of 
the  community  who,  for  one  reason  or  another  may  have  been  compelled  to 
leave  school  at  an  early  age,  an  opportunity  to  secure  the  kind  of  mental 
training  and  mental  food  that  will  do  for  them  at  their  more  advanced  age 
what  the  facilities  of  our  secondary  schools  have  done  for  their  more 
fortunate  juniors.  This  calls  for  a  different  kind  of  instruction  from  a 
mere  repetition  of  the  day  school  studies.  Probably  the  best  education  for 
a  child  of  fourteen,  fifteen,  or  sixteen,  is  training  in  the  elements  of  algebra, 
geometry,  Latin,  French,  German,  etc.  It  is,  however,  bad  pedagogy  to 
advise  the  young  man  of  twenty-five  who  desires  to  make  up  for  his  lack 
of  general  education,  due  to  a  deficient  elementary  and  secondary  education 
in  his  youth,  to  go  back  and  perform  the  work  that  would  have  been  of 
the  most  advantage  to  him  at  the  age  of  fourteen  or  fifteen.  He  needs  a 
new  kind  of  training  a  new  kind  of  education,  which  may  be  obtained  from 
lectures  upon  the  various  branches  of  literature,  art,  science,  given  by 
men  expert  in  knowledge  and  expert  in  power  of  expression  and  presenta- 
tion. In  other  words,  a  comprehensive  and  well  rounded  system  of  edu- 
cational public  lecture  courses,  offered  free  of  charge  in  the  public  school 
buildings  of  our  great  cities,  is  one  of  the  desirable,  indeed  one  of  the  neces- 
sary means  of  adult  education,  which  it  is  for  the  higher  interest  of  the 
community  to  furnish,  if  necessary  at  public  expense. (3) 

The  need  of  this  educational  force  has  been  felt  in  many  communities, 
and  an  attempt  has  been  made  in  a  few  to  satisfy  it.     Your  commission 

(3)  "We  complain  sometimes  in  this  country  that  the  foreigners  who  come  to 
us  are  not  acquainted  with  our  institutions ;  that  they  do  not  understand  the  spirit 
and  practice  of  our  government;  that  they  remain  to  a  certain  extent  alien  to 
the  life  and  spirit  of  our  nation.  What  have  we  as  a  nation  done  to  assist  these 
foreigners  in  obtaining  the  necessary  information?  What  have  we  as  a  nation 
done  toward  interesting  them  in  the  higher  side  of  our  civilization,  and  to  put  into 
their  hands  the  necessary  key  to  an  understanding  for  our  ideas,  of  our  ideals?  We 
complain  that  the  average  man  and  woman  in  our  midst  is  careless  about  higher 
things;  does  not  respond  quickly  to  the  best  and  highest  appeal.  What  have 
we  as  a  nation  done  to  help  the  average  man  after  he  has  passed  from  the  period  of 
infancy  into  that  of  youth,  to  say  nothing  of  after  he  has  passed  from  youth  to 
manhood,  to  bring  these  new  stimuli,  these  new  ideals  into  his  life? 

"A  system  of  post-school  adult  education  involved  in  a  comprehensive,  well- 
rounded  plan  of  public  lectures  upon  science,  art,  literature,  travel,  offers  one 
of  the  efficient  means  to  these  highly  desirable  ends.  Here,  again,  we  have  in 
our  public  school  plant  the  means  of  carrying  out  these  purposes  in  a  simple  and 
inexpensive  manner.  Our  public  school  buildings  are  notoriously,  from  an  econ- 
omic point  of  view,  an  underworked  and  underutilized  investment  of  capital. 
They  are  used  for  seven  hours  a  day  for  ten  months  in  the  year.  They  should 
{  150 


would  respectfully  call  the  attention  of  the  board  of  education  to  what  has 
been  accomplished  in  this  way  in  New  York  city.(4)  We  believe  that  the 
experience  not  only  of  New  York,  but  also  of  a  large  number  of  European 
cities,  indicates  that  much  good  could  be  accomplished  in  our  city  by  a 
similar  plan.  The  results  secured  during  the  past  winter  in  the  free  lec- 
tures offered  by  a  newspaper  of  this  city,  as  well  as  those  furnished  by  the 
University  of  Chicago,  in  co-operation  with  the  board  of  education, 
strengthen  this  view.(5)  We  heartily  recommend,  therefore,  that  the 
board  of  education  make  an  appropriation  of  the  sum  indicated  for  experi- 
mental work  in  this  line  during  the  coming  school  year. 

become  the  centers  of  the  educational  life  of  the  community,  infant  and  adult, 
in  a  sense  far  different  from  that  which  has  been  true  up  to  the  present  time." — 
Edmond  J.  James,  University  of  Chicago. 

(4)  The  most  successful  and  brilliant  attempt  of  this  kind  up  to  the  present 
is  to  be  found  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Within  the  last  ten  years  the  school 
board  of  the  city  has  developed  a  free  lecture  system  in  connection  with  the  pub- 
lic schools  which  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  modern  education.  The  first  series 
of  these  lectures  was  delivered  in  1889,  with  a  total  attendance  of  22,149  persons, 
and  with  a  total  number  of  lectures  of  186.  The  system  has  grown  by  unequal 
strides  until  during  the  last  year,  1,866  lectures  and  a  total  attendance  of  nearly 
700,000  people  was  the  result.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  lectures  during  the 
last  eight  years  has  been  about  tenfold.  The  total  number  of  lectures  delivered 
is  5,154 ;  the  total  attendance  2,290,495.  This  is  a  marvelous  history,  which  shows 
the  eager  thirst  of  the  people  for  entertainment  and  instruction  of  a  high  class  if  it 
can  only  be  brought  within  their  reach." 

(5)  The  Chicago  Record,  during  the  winter  of  1897-8,  arranged  seventy  free 
lectures,  of  which  thirty-eight  were  illustrated.  These  were  delivered  to  a  total 
attendance  of  35,000  people,  giving  an  average  attendance  of  500  at  each  lecture. 

The  University  of  Chicago  made  also  a  modest  attempt  during  the  last  year, 
in  co-operation  with  the  board  of  education  of  this  city,  to  test  the  condition  of 
things  here  as  related  to  this  kind  of  work.  The  school  board  furnished  the  use 
of  the  school  buildings  with  light,  heat  and  janitor  service.  The  University  fur- 
nished the  lectures  and  paid  the  incidental  expenses.  Eighty-five  lectures  were 
given  under  this  system  in  the  various  school  buildings,  with  an  aggregate  attend- 
ance of  over  27,000  people.  These  were  lectures  on  history,  sociology,  natural 
science,  anthropology,  etc.,  etc.  They  were  everywhere  greeted  with  enthusiasm, 
and  in  many  places  the  audiences  far  outran  the  capacity  of  the  halls.  All  this 
points  to  the  time  when  every  public  school  building  will  be  equipped  with  a 
comfortable,  commodious  auditorium,  properly  supplied  with  the  requisite  means 
of  illustration  to  enable  a  lecturer  to  give  the  very  best  and  most  adequate  repre- 
sentation of  the  facts  of  his  subject.  The  citv  of  New  York  has  set  aside  the 
sum  of  sixty  thousand  dollars  for  this  free  lecture  work  during  the  year  1898-9, 
and  it  may  be  doubted  whether  any  other  sixty  thousand  dollars  spent  by  the 
school  board  of  the  city  of  New  York  will  do  the  board  of  education  more  good 
than  this. 


Vacation  ^rijools  nnti 
^JKingrountis 


ARTICLE    XII 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends: 

(  I  )  THAT  AFTER  PROPER  LEGISLATION  HAS  BEEN  SECURED,  VACATION 
SCHOOLS(1)  BE  ESTABLISHED  AND  CONDUCTED  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCA- 
TION  IN   THE   MORE   CROWDED   PORTIONS  OF  THE   CITY  ; 

(2)  THAT  THE  CURRICULUM  OF  THESE  SCHOOLS  CONTINUE  IN  GEN- 
ERAL THAT  OF  THE  REGULAR  SCHOOL  YEAR  FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF 
CHILDREN  WHO  ARE  DELINQUENT  OR  UNABLE  TO  GO  OUT  OF  THE  CITY, 
AND  THAT  IT  EMPHASIZE  CONSTRUCTIVE  WORK,  NATURE  STUDY,  AND 
THE  STUDY  OF  INDUSTRIES,  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  WHICH  EDUCA- 
TIONAL EXCURSIONS  MAY  BE  ARRANGED  J 

(3)  THAT  THE  SCHOOL-YARDS  BE  OPENED  WHERE  NECESSARY  AS 
PLAY-GROUNDS  FROM  8  O'CLOCK  A.  M.  UNTIL  SUNSET  THROUGHOUT  THE 
YEAR,  UNDER  REGULATIONS  AUTHORIZED  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 


The  proper  employment  of  the  summer  vacation  by  the  great  mass  of 
children  of  school  age  is  a  serious  question.  For  children  of  the  well-to-do, 
who  can  pass  these  months  in  the  country,  or  in  the  better  parts  of  the  city, 
with  ready  access  to  the  public  parks,  the  problem  is  comparatively  easy. 
With  intelligent  guidance  on  the  part  of  parents,  the  time  from  the  close  of 
school  to  the  reopening  in  the  Fall  may  be  made  a  period  of  wholesome 
relaxation  and  healthful  activity.  The  parents  of  the  great  majority  of 
school  children,  however,  have  little  time  to  give  to  their  supervision,  and 
for  the  latter  in  the  more  crowded  sections  of  the  city,  there  are  lamentably 
meager  opportunities  for  exercise  and  little  or  no  incentive  to  a  profitable 
employment  of  the  vacation  time.  Thousands  of  Chicago  children  have 
tip  plqyjground  but  the  public  street (2),  and  for  them  every  summer  means 
a  period  of  distinct  deterioration,  mental,  moral,  and  physical.  (3) 

(!)    See  Appendix. 

(2)  "In  a  district  like  mine,  a  vacation  school  would  be  regarded  as  a  bless- 
ing. Not  the  least  of  its  benefits  would  be  the  keeping  of  boys  and  girls  off  the 
streets.  The  only  play-ground  is  the  street,  and  a  long  vacation  is  most  demoral- 
izing."— A  Chicago  Principal. 

152 


Under  these  conditions,  it  seems  to  your  commission  a  pitiful  waste  that 
the  large  equipment  of  the  public  school  system  should  lie  idle,  when, 
through  comparatively  slight  expenditure  it  might  be  used  advantageously 
to  further  the  best  interests  of  the  community.  The  need  of  vacation 
schools  in  large  cities  is  strongly  felt(4),  and  where  introduced  they  have 
been  uniformly  successful.  They  have  relieved  thousands  of  parents  of 
grave  anxiety,  and  have  given  their  children  an  opportunity  for  pleasant 
and  beneficial  occupation.  If  the  vacation  schools  did  nothing  more  than 
give  the  children  something  to  do  not  distinctly  detrimental  to  their  wel- 
fare, the  establishment  of  these  schools  would  be  fully  justified.  Investi- 
gation has  shown  that  in  some  of  our  more  densely  populated  wards  there 
is  an  increase  of  not  less  than  60  per  cent  in  juvenile  crime  during  the 
summer.  Where  vacation  schools  have  been  opened  there  has  been  im- 
mediate and  marked  reduction  in  this  kind  of  offenses,  and  where  formerly 
arrests  of  youthful  offenders  were  very  common,  few  or  none  have  been 

(3)  "It  is  an  obvious  fact  that  a  large  majority  of  our  school  children  who 
enjoy  the  benefits  of  attendance  upon  school  privileges  for  ten  months  in  the 
year  are  practically  without  wholesome  direction  during  the  remaining  two 
months  and  left  to  roam  at  will  wherever  their  irresponsible  inclinations  may 
lead  them ;  and  it  is  probably  not  too  much  to  affirm  that  the  demoralization,  the 
formation  of  questionable  habits  and  in  many  cases  the  beginning  of  things  crim- 
inal do  so  take  possession  of  them  during  the  months  of  the  summer  vacation, 
that  to  counteract  these  unwholesome  tendencies  and  the  strong  bias  of  evil,  sev- 
eral of  the  succeeding  months  are  hardly  sufficient.  Besides,  there  often  springs 
up  such  an  unhealthy  moral  tone,  and  a  swing  of  the  mind  and  heart  toward 
immorality  that  the  pupil  does  not  return  to  school  at  all,  and  he  is  sooner  or 
later  launched  upon  the  great  sea  of  criminal  life.  Recent  experiments  have 
without  question  shown  to  some  extent  the  value  of  vacation  schools  and  the 
popular  desire  for  their  establishment  and  maintenance.  Witness  the  success 
of  the  experiment  in  New  York  city  and  at  the  Medill  School  of  this  city,  under 
private  enterprise,  to  which  1,000  children  were  recently  denied  admission.  This 
is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  and  might  serve  as  a  suggestive  object  lesson  to  the  board 
of  education  to  be  learned  in  the  immediate  future,  and  a  problem  which  it  may 
be  called  upon  to  solve  in  the  interests  of  the  people  at  no  remote  period."— D.  R. 
Cameron.  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1896. 

(4)  '•  The  general  opinion  among  the  poorer  classes  in  Chicago  is  that  the 
schools  ought  to  keep  open  all  during  the  summer,  or  give  only  one  or  two  weeks 
vacation.  They  are  only  too  anxious  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  the 
schools  offer,  and  one  of  their  chief  objections  to  the  present  system  is  that  their 
children  are  on  the  streets  for  about  three  months  every  year.  This  is  one  of  the 
reasons  why  a  great  many  children  of  foreign  parents  are  sent  to  private  and  par- 
ochial schools  although  the  parents  out  of  their  scanty  earnings  have  to  pay  for 
their  tuition  here.  Attendance  during  these  summer  months  ought  to  be  optional, 
so  as  to  give  indigent  pupils  a  chance  to  'come  up  to  grade  ;'  for  they  are,  as  a  rule, 
behind  the  children  of  more  well-to-do  parents,  on  account  of  less  regular  attend- 
ance, inferior  home  training  and  nutrition.  If  this  be  tried  the  school  authorities 
will  find  out  that  more  than  60  per  cent  of  the  pupils  will  stay  out  the  full  term." 
— A.  Morton,  Superintendent,  John  Worthy  Manual  Training  School,  Chicago. 

153 


reported. (5)  Such  testimony  is  a  powerful  argument  for  vacation  schools, 
but  it  is  not  the  only  one. 

On  the  positive  side,  experience  shows  that  great  opportunities  are 
afforded  here  for  educational  work.  To  the  thoughtful  observer  the  enor- 
mous waste  incident  to  the  present  method  of  conducting  our  school  system 
is  evidenced.  The  city  has  an  investment  of  many  millions  in  school  prop- 
erty, which  is  used  for  a  few  hours  each  day  during  hardly  more  than  one- 
half  the  year.  Many  experts  have  considered  seriously  whether  it  is  not 
advisable  to  hold  during  the  summer  months  school  sessions  with  a  full 
corps  of  teachers.  There  is  no  question  that  if  this  plan  were  adopted  the 
attendance  would  include  a  very  large  proportion  of  Chicago  children  of 
school  age.  Not  only  would  many  backward  children  gladly  seize  this 
opportunity  to  attain  the  grade  that  can  naturally  be  expected  of  pupils  of 
their  age,  but  many  of  the  more  studious  and  better  endowed  would  be 
enabled  to  advance  more  rapidly  and  secure  a  better  education  before 
economic  necessities  force  them  to  become  wage-earners. 

As  long,  however,  as  the  vacation  schools  are  advocated  for  the  benefit 
of  the  children  less  advantageously  situated  than  their  fellows,  no  direct 
effort  perhaps  can  be  looked  for  toward  making  the  vacation  course  of 
study  a  duplicate  of  the  regular  work  of  the  public  schools.  Your  com- 
mission, indeed,  does  not  regard  with  favor  the  long  vacation  universal  in 
our  American  school  system.  We  believe  that  the  summer  schools  with  a 
full  course  of  study,  which  are  now  proposed  for  New  York  city,  could  be 
introduced  with  even  greater  advantage  in  Chicago,  where  the  climate 
during  these  months  permits  more  earnest  and  sustained  activity.  For  the 
present,  however,  it  seems  best  to  plan  the  course  of  study  from  another 
point  of  view,  and  to  give  here  larger  opportunities  in  lines  necessarily  more 
cr  less  neglected  during  the  school  year.  Nature  study,  with  excursions ; 
constructive  work,  both  for  boys  and  girls ;  singing,  drawing,  and  physical 
exercises,  are  among  the  studies  that  have  been  most  generally  introduced 
and  that  have  proved  successful. (6) 

(5)  "Most  of  our  schools  should  continue  open  during  the  entire  year.  Chil- 
dren who  cannot  leave  the  city  during  the  summer  vacation  suffer  from  lack  of 
proper  employment.  In  working  off  their  energy  which  is  normal,  they  are  often 
innocently  led  into  acts  which  are  unlawful,  and  are  inured  to  deeds  that  finally 
develop  criminal  lives.  I  am  satisfied  that  a  want  of  proper  employment  and 
proper  recreation  has  been  the  largest  factor  in  all  ages  in  making  criminals." — A 
Chicago  Principal. 

(6)  "It  is  a  matter  which  should  receive  very  careful  consideration  by  the  best 
minds  whom  you  can  secure — how  to  conduct  vacation  schools,  and  what  should 
be  included  in  the  curriculum  of  these  schools.  They  must  differ  very  largely 
from  the  ordinary  day  schools.     There  is  no  question  but  that  the  children  of 


Vacation  schools  have  been  opened  in  this  city  through  private  gifts, 
and  for  these  the  board  of  education  has  wisely  granted  the  use  of  school 
buildings.  These  schools,  however,  should  be  made  an  integral  part  of  the 
public  system  and  should  be  adequately  and  even  liberally  supported. (7) 
They  are  a  benefit  to  the  children,  a  help  to  the  parents,  and  an  aid, 
through  the  experience  here  gained,  to  the  efficiency  of  the  teaching  force, 
and  may  modify  in  wholesome  directions,  the  curriculum  and  methods  of 
the  elementary  and  grammar  grades. 

With  the  establishment  of  vacation  schools  should  come  also  the  opening 
of  the  school-yards  as  play-grounds  in  the  respective  districts.  Some 
supervision  will  be  necessary  and  some  additional  expense  and  labor  are 
involved  in  the  care  of  these,  in  order  to  avoid  complaints  that  would  other- 
wise naturally  result  from  occasional  misuse,  but  we  believe  that  this  action 
will  go  far  to  meet  the  needs  of  children  for  outdoor  exercise  during  the 
summer  months,  and  will  command  the  general  approval  of  the  com- 
munity^8) 

Chicago  in  the  crowded  portions  of  the  city  especially,  and  in  fact,  the  children  of 
nearly  all  our  larger  towns  and  cities,  are  receiving  great  harm  from  being  on 
the  streets  from  two  to  three  months  every  year.  I  hope  that  Chicago  will  set 
the  example  to  all  the  cities  in  the  land  in  establishing  a  system  of  vacation 
schools,  which  would  be  efficient,  which  would  be  attractive  to  the  children,  and 
which  may  possibly  give  the  children  better  instruction  in  some  things,  as  in 
ethics,  in  the  industries,  in  nature  studies,  than  can  possibly  be  given  during  the 
term  time.  The  opening  of  the  schoolyards  as  play-grounds  from  morning  till 
night  throughout  the  year  is  another  great  step."— Henry  Sabin,  Ex-State  Super- 
intendent of  Instruction,  Iowa. 

(7)  "I  favor  this  proposition  to  the  extent  that  .summer  or  vacation  schools, 
under  the  direction  of  the  board  of  education,  be  established  so  liberally  as  to 
provide  school  accommodations  for  every  one  of  school  age  who  desires  to  avail 
himself  of  such  provision.  In  fact,  I  favor  continuous  sessions  of  the  schools, 
relieved  by  short  vacations,  say  two  weeks  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  and  each 
succeeding  four  months  of  the  year."— A  Chicago  Superintendent. 

"I  am  cordially  in  sympathy  with  the  vacation  school  idea  as  about  to  be 
carried  out  by  the  women's  clubs  of  the  city  during  the  coming  summer,  and 
hope  that  ere  long  the  board  of  education  will  be  able  to  carry  out  this  plan  as 
a  fixed  plan  of  the  school  system."— A  Chicago  Principal, 

"We  urge  the  establishment  of  vacation  schools  in  the  crowded  portions  of 
the  city,  under  the  supervision  of  the  board  of  education."— The  George  Howland 
Club. 

"Vacation  schools  for  industrial  work  are  endorsed.  The  equipment  of 
school  grounds  in  certain  districts  with  apparatus  for  physical  culture  is  recom- 
mended."— Ella  F.  Young  Club. 

(8)  "The  school-yards  should  be  open  every  day  of  the  year  except  Sunday 
from  eight  in  the  morning  to  six  in  the  evening,  for  use  as  play-grounds."— Every 
Day  Club. 

155 


i-lngrnoro  Kooms  ano 


ARTICLE    XIII 


In  regard  to  ungraded  rooms  and  schools,  your  Commission  respectfully 
recommends : 

SECTION  I. — THAT  AN  UNGRADED  ROOM  OR  ROOMS  BE  ESTABLISHED  UPON 
THE  RECOMMENDATION  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  EACH 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL,  FOR  CHILDREN  WHO  FOR  ANY  REASON  HAVE 
SHOWN  THEMSELVES  UNABLE  TO  MAINTAIN  THEIR  STANDING  IN  THE 
REGULAR  CLASS-ROOM^1)    AND 

SECTION  2. THAT  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  BE  REQUESTED  TO  CONSIDER 

WHETHER  AN  UNGRADED  SCHOOL  OR  SCHOOLS  SHOULD  NOT  BE  ESTAB- 
LISHED FOR  CHILDREN  WHO  ARE  IRREGULAR  IN  ATTENDANCE,  OR  WHO 
A.RE  HABITUAL  TRUANTS. 


In  a  school  system  as  carefully  graded  as  is  that  of  Chicago,  much 
difficulty  arises  with  those  children  who,  for  any  reason,  cannot  easily  be 
assigned  to  a  particular  room,  or  who,  after  assignment,  fail  to  maintain 
the  average  standing  of  the  class.  These  children  may  be  of  foreign  birth 
or  descent,  and  on  account  of  their  ignorance  of  the  English  language,  need 
individual  attention.  They  may  be  irregular  in  attendance,  and  therefore 
fall  behind  their  comrades.  In  either  case,  particular  provision  should  be 
made  for  them  both  for  their  own  good,  and  in  order  that  their  presence 
may  not  interfere  unduly  with  the  work  of  the  various  grades.  Since 
corporal  punishment  has  been  abolished,  and  expulsion  from  school  is  an 
injustice  to  the  child  and  to  the  community,  recourse  must  be  taken  to 
another  means — a  special  room  or  school. 

(1)  "We  request  that  the  commission  investigate  ungraded  rooms  in  other 
cities  with  a  view  of  establishing  the  same  in  Chicago." — Every  Day  Club. 

(2)  "These  children  constitute  a  class  of  non-voluntary  absentees  from 
school.  Their  education,  their  moral  training  are  neglected  or  ignored  by  their 
parents.  They  are  not  essentially  bad.  They  might  associate  with  other  children 
without  exerting  any  injurious  or  immoral  influences.  If  sent  to  school,  they 
would,  under  proper  tuition  and  training,  respond  to  processes  of  education  and 
make  satisfactory  progress.     Under  previous  or  existing  circumstances,  they  have 

156 


The  teacher  of  the  ungraded  room  should  be  eminently  qualified  both 
lor  instruction  and  discipline.  The  children  put  under  such  charge  present 
a  delicate  problem.  They  include  not  only  those  who  have  fallen  behind 
in  the  regular  work  on  account  of  special  mentaTcrisad vantages,  or  of 
irregular  attendance,  but  also  those  who,  through  imperfect  home  training, 
are  inclined  to  be  unruly.  Assignment  to  an  ungraded  room  need  not  be 
for  a  long  period.  With  the  individual  attention  and  stimulus  here  offered, 
it  should  not  be  a  matter  of  many  months  before  the  pupil  is  fit  both  in  mind 
and  in  disposition  to  resume  the  work  of  the  regular  grade.  Care  will  be 
needed  in  assigning  the  pupils  to  these  rooms,  for  in  no  case  should  it  be 
made  to  appear  a  source  of  reproach  to  the  child  or  his  parents. (3) 

In  addition  to  the  children  for  whom  suitable  provision  can  be  made  in 
the  ungraded  room,  there  is  another  class  which  demands  even  more  careful 
attention.  The  child  who  is  habitually  irregular  in  attendance,  or  it  may 
be,  a  confirmed  truant,  needs  rigid  supervision  and  direction. (4)     He  may 

reached  the  kindergarten  or  primary  school  stage  of  intellectual  advancement 
from  six  to  eight  years  later  in  life  than  other  children  who  have  attended 
school  regularly.  If  placed  in  graded  classes  they  would  feel  their  ignorance, 
they  would  feel  under  restraint  in  the  presence  of  children  so  much  younger  than 
themselves,  and  this  consciousness  of  self  would  interfere  with  their  progress." 
— Edgar  A.  Singer,  on  "Special  and  Parental  Schools." 

(3)  "The  only  caution  in  regard  to  the  ungraded  room  should  be  that  it  should 
not  be  considered  a  punishment  to  be  placed  in  it.  Wherever  the  ungraded  room 
has  been  tried  heretofore  it  has  degenerated  into  a  kind  of  Botany  Bay  school, 
and  children  have  left  school  rather  than  be  forced  to  attend  it.  That  point 
ought  to  be  guarded  against  very  carefully.  The  establishment  of  parental  schools 
is  an  experiment.  It  is  certain  in  my  opinion  that  these  parental  schools  will 
become  a  necessity  and  must  be  established,  or  else  the  state  will  have  to  estab- 
lish and  maintain  more  reform  schools.  The  worst  thing  that  can  be  done  with 
a  boy  is  to  expel  him  from  school.  To  turn  him  into  the  street  and  deprive  him 
of  his  schooling  is  a  sure  road  to  the  penitentiary  before  he  is  twenty-one  years 
old." — Henry  Sabin,  Ex-State  Superintendent  of  Instruction,  Iowa. 

(4)  "These  children  do  not  like  to  go  to  school.  The  general  atmosphere  of 
the  school-room  is  not  suited  to  their  mental  organization.  The  bump  of  intel- 
lectuality in  them  is  not  normally  developed,  and  they  have  no  taste  for  books 
or  study.     They  prefer  the  environments  of  home  or  the  freedom  of  the  street. 

"Some  of  these  are  irregular  because  over-indulgent  parents  listen  to  and 
accept  petty  reasons  for  their  remaining  at  home,  or  make  insufficient  reasons  for 
sending  them  on  errands,  or  to  dancing  classes,  or  to  music  teachers,  or  on  visits 
to  relatives  or  friends. 

"Others  are  irregular  because  they  do  not  respond  to  their  teachers'  efforts 
to  arouse  and  to  stimulate  in  them  due  interest  in  their  studies  and  their  class 
exercises.  Of  course,  lack  of  interest  in  study  leads  to  indifference  ami  then 
to  idleness,  and  trouble  begins,  for  'Satan  finds  some  mischief  still  for  idle  hands 
(and  brains)  to  do.'  Then  follow  requests  for  interviews  with  parents  for  their 
interest  and  influence  and  co-operation.  Temporary  improvement  results,  to  be 
followed  in  many  cases  by  relapses  into  confirmed  idle  habits.  Further  confer- 
ences become  necessary,  but  they  are  refused  by  some  parents  because  they 

157 


rot  be  morally  deficient  or  vicious  or  entirely  incorrigible,  but,  with  little 
taste  for  study  and  a  disposition  to  idleness,  his  irregularity  in  attendance 
requires  serious  treatment.  For  such  a  child,  even  the  extra  supervision 
and  incentives  of  the  ungraded  room  are  not  enough.  Some  degree  of 
physical  restraint  is  necessary.  This  may  be  afforded  in  the  ungraded 
school,  where  his  attendance  can  be  secured  by  a  truant  officer,  and  where 
he  can  be  retained  during  the  entire  school  day.(5)     He  needs,  moreover, 

believe  their  children  can  do  no  wrong.  The  intervention  of  the  school  committee 
is  then  sought,  that  parents  may  be  induced  to  see  clearly  their  duty  to  their  own 
children,  but  often  without  effect,  and  the  issue  is  soon  joined. 

"The  teacher  cannot  receive  or  retain  pupils  who  will  not  behave,  who  will 
not  respect  the  rules  of  the  school,  who  will  not  try  to  take  an  interest  in  their 
studies.  The  parents  do  not  appreciate  the  evils  threatened  by  the  attitude  of 
their  children  toward  school  authority,  they  do  not  see  the  necessity  of  hearty 
co-operation  with  the  teacher,  that  their  own  children  may  be  reclaimed  from 
idle  habits,  they  do  not  accept  the  friendly  offices  of  the  school  committee  to 
establish  the  right  relations  between  the  school  and  the  family.  The  immovable 
body  and  the  irresistible  force  have  come  in  collision,  and  the  children  are 
forced  out  of  school.  Other  children  reach  the  same  end  more  directly,  more 
rapidly.  Some  of  these  become  irregular  attendants  or  truants  because  they  dis- 
like the  restraints  of  the  school,  they  dislike  merely  intellectual  branches  of 
study,  they  dislike  the  ordinary  school  duties ;  others,  because  their  idle  habits 
and  their  misconduct  merit  and  receive  the  condemnation  of  their  teachers,  and 
they  wish  to  escape  punishment  at  school  or  at  home ;  still  others,  because  they 
are  suspended  by  the  school  authorities,  and  no  efforts  are  made  to  have  them 
returned  to  their  classes  upon  condition  of  future  good  behavior.  All  these 
children  are  troublesome,  they  are  mischievous,  but  they  are  not  bad  in  the  worst 
application  of  this  term,  they  are  not  immoral." — Edgar  A.  Singer,  on  "Special 
and  Parental  Schools." 

(5)  "For  such  children,  a  school  like  the  school  in  Detroit,  known  as  the 
ungraded  school,  would  be  an  important  auxiliary  to  any  school  system.  This 
is  a  school  which  the  board  of  education  of  the  city  is  empowered  by  law  to 
establish,  and  into  which  truant  officers  are  required  to  gather  all  habitual  truants 
and  absentees,  as  well  as  those  pupils  from  other  schools  who  are  incorrigibly 
turbulent,  vicious  or  immoral.  Such  pupils  are  not  entirely  removed  from  paren- 
tal control,  but  they  are  obliged  to  carry  their  dinner  and  are  under  the  care  of 
their  teachers  during  the  time  between  sessions,  as  well  as  in  school  hours.  Tru- 
ant officers  are  empowered  to  compel  attendance  upon  this  school,  and  any 
absentee  is  immediately  made  known  to  them.  The  term  for  which  a  child  is 
sent  to  the  ungraded  school  is  indefinite  in  length.  By  good  behavior,  punctual- 
ity and  earnest  work  he  may  make  it  short,  or  by  the  opposite  course  he  may 
make  it  long.  No  outside  power  is  allowed  to  interfere  and  grant  an  undeserved 
release.  Upon  the  child  alone  depends  the  length  of  his  detention.  In  Detroit, 
one  term  in  the  ungraded  school  works  reformation  in  three-quarters  of  the 
cases — a  grand  success. 

"What  shall  these  pupils  be  taught?  Not  intellectual,  not  scholastic  branches 
only.  Their  habits  have  not  been  such  as  to  interest  them  in  study  from  the 
mere  love  of  study.  Of  course,  it  is  essential  that  they  shall  learn  the  common 
English  branches  ;  but  their  lack  of  mental  development,  their  active  out-door 
life,  have  created  in  them  desires  for  something  more  than  the  spelling-book,  the 
reading  lesson,  the  multiplication  table.  They  must  have  some  exercise  to  work- 
off  surplus  physical  activity.  There  must  be  provided  for  them  some  form  of 
elementary  manual  training — drawing,  clay  modeling,  sloyd  work,  woodcarving, 
to  alternate  with  exercises  that  are  purely  intellectual;  there  must  be  something 
for  their  hands  to  do  as  well  as  for  their  minds.  Doubtless  the  expense  of  educat- 
es 


a  different  course  of  study  planned  with  the  purpose  of  arousing  his  interest 
in  school  work.  Experience  has  shown  that  a  large  amount  of  manual 
training  is  helpful  under  these  conditions.  Less  can  be  expected  of  these 
children  in  purely  intellectual  work.  Much  training  of  the  hand  will  be 
beneficial  mentally  and  morally.  Enforced  attendance  at  such  a  school 
with  a  specially  planned  curriculum,  and  teachers  peculiarly  fitted  for  this 
work(6),  will,  your  commission  believes,  go  far  to  solve  the  truant  question. 
The  ungraded  rooms  and  schools  here  recommended  will  not  prove  satis- 
factory in  the  case  of  the  more  incorrigible,  and  for  them  another  school 
will  be  suggested  in  the  following  article. 

ing  children  in  these  special  schools  will  be  more  per  capita  than  the  average  cost 
per  pupil  in  the  regularly  organized  schools,  but  the  expense  is  assuredly  less 
than  will  be  the  future  cost  to  the  community  if  these  children  are  permitted 
to  become  ignorant,  idle,  criminal  men  and  women.  Besides,  it  is  a  condition 
and  not  a  theory  that  confronts  us.'  Under  the  Compulsory  Attendance  Act, 
these  children  must  be  placed  in  school ;  but  they  cannot  be  forced  into  graded 
schools  without  injury  to  themselves  as  well  as  to  these  schools.  Hence  there 
must  be  instituted  and  organized  for  them  special  ungraded  schools,  adapted 
to  their  condition,  to  be  placed  under  the  care  of  teachers  possessing  peculiar 
qualifications  for  the  peculiar  duties  required  of  them." — Edgar  A.  Singer,  on 
"Special  and  Parental  Schools." 

"Many  of  the  children  who  were  thus  drawn  from  the  streets  and  placed  in 
the  schools  have  been  found  hard  to  control,  and  many  times  they  have  demoral- 
ized the  rooms  in  which  they  were  placed.  This  presents  the  necessity  of  pro- 
viding for  this  class  of  children  in  separate  schools,  where  special  provision 
can  be  made  for  their  teaching,  for  their  bodily  care  and  proper  preparation 
for  contact  with  others  in  the  schoolroom." — A.  G.  Lane,  Superintendent's  Re- 
port, Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1892. 

(6)  "These  children  vary  greatly  in  age,  in  size,  in  attainments.  They  can- 
not be  taught  in  classes.  They  must  be  taught  individually.  As  they  have  not 
been  accustomed  to  or  responsive  to  the  discipline  and  the  training  of  the  graded 
schools,  they  must  be  placed  in  separate  special  schools  under  the  charge  of 
teachers  peculiarly  fitted  for  such  positions ;  teachers  who,  having  small  classes, 
will  study  the  disposition  of  each  pupil  and  adapt  their  methods  of  disciplining 
and  of  teaching,  so  as  to  encourage  each  to  better  conduct,  and  to  stimulate 
all  to  greater  effort  of  mind  and  of  will  power  necessary  to  insure  advancement 
in  their  studies  and  the  other  school  exercises;  teachers  who  are  familiar 
with  the  organization  of  graded  schools  and  who  will  earnestly  strive  to  pre- 
pare their  special  pupils  for  transfer  to  the  regular  schools  as  soon  as  they 
become  qualified  to  take  up  the  course  of  study  provided  for  these  graded 
class." — Edgar  A.  Singer,  on  'Special  and  Parental  Schools." 


159 


ifijf  (fompulson,) 

.Httrntianrr  ?iaU)  anti  a 

i)arnttal  cfliool 


ARTICLE    XIV 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends  : 

SECTION  I. THAT  STEPS  BE  TAKEN  TOWARD  SECURING  A  MORE  ADEQUATE 

COMPULSORY  SCHOOL  ATTENDANCE  LAW^1),  AND  THAT  THE  QUESTION 
BE  CONSIDERED  OF  EMPLOYING  THE  POLICE  OF  THE  CITY  FOR  THE  PUR- 
POSE  OF   SECURING   A    MORE   EFFECTUAL   ENFORCEMENT   OF   THE   SAME; 

SECTION  2. — THAT  LEGISLATIVE  AUTHORITY  BE  SECURED  FOR  THE  ESTAB- 
LISHMENT OF  ONE  OR  MORE  PARENTAL  SCHOOLS  FOR  THE  FORCIBLE 
DETENTION  OF  PERSISTENTLY  REFRACTORY  PUPILS. 

The  principle  of  compulsory  school  attendance  is  well  established,  and 
laws  intended  to  secure  and  enforce  this  have  been  successively  passed  by 
many  states.  The  earlier  attempts  were  not  uniformly  successful (2),  but 
the  necessity  of  greater  stringency  in  legislative  provisions  has  led  in  more 
than  one  state  to  laws  that  appear  fairly  adequate  and  satisfactory.  The 
law  of  Illinois,  approved  June  n,  1897,  seems  in  many  particulars  to  be 
satisfactory,  and  the  test  of  this  law  made  during  the  past  year  shows 
that  much  better  results  have  been  accomplished  for  the  city  in  the  matter 
cf  compulsory  attendance  than  was  formerly  possible.  (3) 

C1)   See  Appendix  F. 

(2)  "So  loose  and  defective,  in  fact,  are  many  of  these  laws,  especially  the 
earlier  ones,  that  there  might  have  been  some  justification  for  the  following 
sweeping  verdict  of  the  Colorado  state  superintendent,  made  in  1877:  'Com- 
pulsory education  in  America  *  *  *  is  a  well-proven  failure.  *  *  *  If 
American  experience  has  setttled  anything  in  the  last  ten  years,  il  has  established 
the  fact  that  education  cannot  be  made  compulsory  in  the  United  States.'  But, 
on  the  whole,  I  think  that  the  development  of  educational  interests  during  the 
last  twenty  years  would  go  to  prove  the  above  radical  statement  wrong  and 
quite  out  of  date.  Several  of  the  states,  as  I  have  said,  have  been  marching 
right  along,  passing  more  and  more  stringent  compulsory  laws  and  coming 
nearer  and  nearer  to  a  proper  and  effective  administration  of  the  same;  and 
there  is  very  evidently  a  growing  tendency  in  this  direction  in  several  other 
states.  The  tendency  is  undoubtedly  more  and  more  toward  state  intervention 
in  this  field." — William  Clarence  Webster,  in  Educational  Review,  March,  1897. 

(3)  The  department  has  been  very  much  strengthened  by  the  new  law.  which 

160 


Yet  definite  action  by  the  hoard  of  education  in  several  matters  would 
improve  conditions.  The  majority  of  truant  officers  should  be  nun,  and 
the  efficient  work  of  the  superintendent  of  this  department  should  be  sup- 
plemented by  the  appointment  of  one  chief  assistant.  The  responsible 
head  should  have  also  the  privilege  of  recommending  to  the  superintend- 
ent of  schools  the  officers  needed  in  his  department. 

Your  commission  believes,  furthermore,  that  the  state  law  may  be  im- 
proved by  authorizing  the  employment  in  addition  of  police  officers  to  aid 
in  securing  its  enforcement.  A  more  important  step,  however,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  proper  school  attendance  is  the  establishment  of  one  or  more 
parental  schools  under  the  direction  of  the  board  of  education. (4)     Such 

has  enabled  the  truant  officers  to  enforce  the  regulations  and  accomplish  good 
results,  as  shown  by  the  following  comparative  table  : 

Investi-  Returned 

gations.  to  School. 

1894-5 11,878  3752 

1895-6 13. 191  4,690 

1896-7 13.990  5.626 

1897-8 16.596  7,428 

(4)  "The  third  class  above  specified  includes  those  who  have  been  in  school, 
but  whose  conduct — or  misconduct,  rather — has  been  such  as  to  render  their 
continued  presence  in  school  a  constant  menace  to  the  teacher's  authority  and 
a  harmful  influence  over  the  discipline  and  the  general  morale  of  the  class. 
In  civilized  society  laws  are  intended  not  to  punish,  but  to  protect  those  who 
are  disposed  to  do  right;  they  are  enacted  to  restrain  or  to  punish  those 
who  are  evil  minded,  those  who  set  the  supremacy  of  law  at  defiance  for  their 
own  gratification,  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  own  selfish,  vicious  purposes. 
For  this  criminal  class  the  law  is  intended  to  be  both  corrective  and  punitive. 
Crime  against  society  has  its  only  remedy  in  the  separation  or  removal  of 
criminals  from  their  fellow  citizens  as  a  preventive  against  further  crime. 
The  effects  of  this  separation  are  reformatory,  or  they,  by  creating  fear  of  further 
punishment,  compel  obedience  to,  if  they  do  not  lead  to  respect  for,  the  laws 
necessary  for  the  government  of  all  social  organizations.  In  like  manner  school 
laws  are  enacted,  not  to  menace  those  who  are  disposed  to  follow  right  lines 
of  moral  action,  but  to  punish  those  who  disregard  or  violate  them.  Schools  are 
established,  not  for  good  children  only,  but  for  all  children;  for  the  good  that 
they  may  become  better  ;  for  the  bad  that  they  may  be  prevented  from  becoming 
worse,  or  that  they  may  be  induced  to  respect  and  obey  school  authority  and 
social  law  in  general.  The  state  would  fall  far  short  of  its  duty  if  it  did  not 
make  provision  for  taking  charge  of  vicious  children  in  time  to  prevent  them 
from  developing  into  the  criminal  classes  of  adult  society.  The  Compulsory 
Attendance  Act  has  for  its  purposes  the  reformation  of  these  vicious  children. 
They  cannot  be  received  or  continued  in  the  regularly  organized  schools ;  they 
were  admitted  into  these  schools ;  they  were  encouraged  to  do  right ;  they 
were  reproved;  they  were  punished  for  misconduct;  they  have  been  suspended 
from  further  attendance  in  their  classes ;  their  parents  cannot  or  will  not  control 
them;  teachers  and  committees  fail  to  correct  their  evil  tendencies  and  their 
vicious  conduct.  What  shall  be  done  with  them?  The  Compulsory  Attend- 
ance Act  commands  that  they  shall  be  placed  in  schools  ;  if  not  in  the  regular 
schools,  then  in  other  schools  to  be  provided  for  them.  It  therefore  appears 
to  be  the  plain  duty  of  the  board  of  public  education  and  of  the  city  councils 
to  establish  parental  schools  for  these  children,  to  which  they  must  be  com- 
mitted by  legal  process  and  in  which  they  must  be  retained  by  force  if  necessary. 

161 


schools  are  no  longer  an  experiment.  (5)  They  have  been  found  useful 
in  many  cities,  and  those  most  qualified  to  judge  are  heartily  in  favor  of 
them.(6)     The  public  demand  for  them  in  this  city  has  been  indicated  in 

The  general  purposes  of  these  parental  schools  are  to  prevent  the  evil  effects 
of  the  bad  influences  of  vicious  children  over  other  school  children:  to  afford 
them  an  opportunity  to  acquire  an  education ;  to  produce  such  reformation 
in  their  moral  nature  and  mental  habits  as  will  permit  their  transfer  to  special 
schools  or  to  regularly  organized  schools.  The  course  of  instruction  in  these 
parental  schools  must  include  the  common  English  branches,  that  the  inmates 
may  become  qualified  for  admission,  finally,  into  graded  classes.  To  those 
branches  of  study  should  be  added  such  features  of  elementary  manual  train- 
ing as  will  serve  to  interest  the  pupils  and  stimulate  them  to  more  earnest, 
active  physical  and  mental  effort." — Edgar  A.  Singer,  on  "Special  and  Parental 
Schools." 

(5)  The  truancy  problem  has  in  a  measure  been  solved  by  the  city  of  Brook- 
lyn. Some  time  ago  the  city  purchased  a  fine  piece  of  ground  several  miles 
from  the  city  and  erected  a  building  upon  it  to  be  used  as  a  school  of  detention 
for  truants."  The  ground  and  building  cost  the  city  $75,000.  and  it  requires 
$25,000  a  year  to  maintain  the  establishment.  The  truant  officers  hunt  up  all  chil- 
dren who  will  not  go  to  school.  All  are  given  a  fair  chance  to  receive  instruc- 
tion, but  if  they  refuse  to  do  so  then  they  must  be  sent  by  their  principal  to 
the  school  for  truants.  The  latter  is  conducted  on  much  the  same  principle 
as  a  reformatory.  The  truants  are  confined  and  allowed  very  few  privileges, 
being  compelled  to  study  much  harder  than  they  would  be  in  the  regular  insti- 
tution. After  their  sentences  expire  they  are  sent  back  to  the  city  and  given 
another  opportunity  to  reform.  One  dose  of  the  truant  farm  generally  suffices 
tor  the  truant  pupil,  but  in  case  that  it  does  not  he  is  sentenced  for  a  longer 
time,  probably  for  the  remainder  of  the  school  term.  It  is  impossible  to  keep 
the  truants  there  after  the  completion  of  the  regular  term,  as  they  are  not 
criminals,  and  must  be  given  their  liberty  when  the  time  arrives.  At  different 
periods  since  the  institution  has  been  established  there  have  been  as  high  as 
one  hundred  truants  in  confinement,  although  the  number  averages  twenty-five. 
They  are  fed  and  clothed,  and  there  is  the  regular  corps  of  instructors  the  same  as 
in  the  city,  so  that  the  bad  ones  receive  every  advantage. 

(6)  "But  when  such  a  school  as  this  Detroit  school  shall  have  done  all  it 
can  do.  there  will  remain  children  in  quite  considerable  numbers  whom  it  will 
be  impossible  to  save  while  the  home  and  street  life  exert  their  baleful  influence 
for  so  considerable  a  part  of  the  day.  For  such  children  the  parental  school  is 
a  necessitv.  They  must  be  taken  out  of  the  mire  and  filth  of  their  associations 
and  surrounded  and  placed  in  charge  of  such  foster-parents  as  shall  give  them 
what  they  have  never  before  known — a  real  home.  A  parental  home  is  not  a 
prison,  but  a  school-home,  a  school  in  which  a  child  is  taught  what  he  most 
needs  to  know,  especially  along  the  lines  of  manual  training;  a  home  in  which 
he  shall  learn  what  the  "word  'home'  means,  and  a  home  in  which  he  shall  be 
placed  under  those  healthful,  elevating  influences  of  which  a  real  home  is  the 
center  and  inspiration.  Membership  in  such  a  school-home  should  be  continual 
until,  if  possible,  a  relish  shall  have  been  acquired  for  the  new  ways,  which 
shall  restrain  from  a  return  to  the  old  haunts  and  habits.  Such  a  work  will  be 
often  discouraging  to  those  who  engage  in  it.  It  will  be  too  much  to  expect 
that  hereditary  and  early  surroundings  will  in  every  case  be  overcome,  but 
the  child  will" at  least  have  had  a  chance,  and  many  will  be  encouraged  and 
helped  to  a  worthy  and  successful  struggle  against  the  odds  of  the  lives  to 
which  they  seem  born.  It  will  he  expensive— expensive  as  it  is  efficient.  In 
all  our  large  cities  there  are  children  in  very  considerable  numbers  who  ought 
10  be  gathered  into  such  school  homes.  Some  cities  have  already  started  111 
this  direction.  Delays  are  dangerous.  Children  who  may  be  rescued  to-day. 
tomorrow    will   be  beyond   our   reach.     When    we   shrink   from   the   expense   oi 

162 


resolutions  of  various  bodies (7),  and  more  particularly  in  the  recent  report 
of  the  Chicago  supervisor  of  compulsory  education. (s)  We  recommend 
that  steps  be  taken  immediately  to  obtain  legislative  authority  for  the  estab- 

such  reformatory  work  we  should  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  such  children,  if 
let  alone,  will  almost  inevitably  grow  up  to  be  a  public  charge,  either  in  our 
penal  or  our  charitable  institutions.  Which  will  involve  the  greater  cost,  this 
or  that?" — Charles  IV.  Hill,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1892,  p.  657. 

"Boys  who  will  not  go  to  school  when  they  ought,  and  boys  who  are  so 
ill-behaved  when  they  do  go  that  teachers  have  good  reason  to  wish  they  had 
stayed  away— these  are  the  truants  and  incorrigibles  who  must  be  taken  care 
of,  if  education  in  this  country  is  to  become  universal  in  fact  as  well  as  in 
purpose,  and  so  do  its  full  work  in  training  to  good  citizenship  and  in  preventing 
crime.  Little  matters  it  whether  the  boy  is  out  of  school  through  his  own 
waywardness,  through  his  parents'  neglect  or  the  willingness  of  teachers  to  be 
rid  of  a  troublesome  pupil ;  in  any  case  he  stands  for  a  failure  in  education 
and  is  a  source  of  danger  to  the  commonwealth." — Edwin  P.  Seaver,  N.  E.  A. 
Proceedings,  1894,  p.  536. 

"There  are  many  charitable  organizations  constantly  seeking  to  remove  home- 
less and  neglected  children  from  our  city  and  to  place  them  where  the  social 
surroundings  and  the  moral  influences  will  mould  them  for  upright  citizens. 
There  are  also  a  large  number  of  children  who  are  constantly  dropping  out 
of  our  schools  because  of  insubordination  to  discipline  and  want  of  co-opera- 
tion between  the  parents  and  the  teachers,  and  they  are  becoming  vagrants 
upon  the  streets  and  a  menace  to  good  society.  The  welfare  of  the  city  demands 
that  such  children  shall  be  put  under  restraint  and  educated  in  a  place  where 
all  the  surroundings  will  be  wholesome  and  reformatory.  I  therefore  call 
attention  again  to  the  necessity  for  the  establishment  of  a  parental  school  for 
the  benefit  of  such  children." — A.  G.  Lane,  Superintendent's  Report,  Chicago- 
Board  of  Education,  1894. 

(7)  "We  ask  that  the  compulsory  education  be  thoroughly  tested,  and 
parental  schools  established." — Every  Day  Club. 

"We  urge  the  establishment  of  special  schools  under  the  board  of  educa- 
tion for  truants  and  incorrigible  children." — The  George  Howland  Club. 

"The  parental  school  is  absolutely  essential,  as  it  provides  for  children  who 
are  refractory  or  who  have  a  tendency  to  be  truants,  and  whose  presence  in  the 
public  school  is  a  positive  injury."— 5".  T.  Button,  Superintendent  Public  Schools, 
Brookline,  Mass. 

(8)  "The  parental  school  would  be  to  the  erring  children  a  home  where 
pleasant  environment  and  good  treatment  would  go  much  farther  to  reform 
the  wayward  than  the  strict  and  severe  discipline  of  a  prison  or  reformatory 
for  criminals.  Treat  them  with  the  care  and  kindness  of  a  parent,  teach  them 
love  of  humankind,  patriotism,  and  give  them  a  universal  training  in  reading, 
writing,  arithmetic,  geography,  history  and  manual  training.  The  result  from 
such  training  will  soon  be  manifest  in  useful  and  intelligent  individuals.  By 
all  means  the  board  of  education  should  have  power  to  establish  and  maintain 
one  or  more  of  such  schools,  and  thereby  break  up  or  avoid  the  formation  of 
bad  habits  and  character,  and  thus  save  many  children  from  becoming  criminals. 
All  good  citizens  desire  to  have  these  children  educated,  and  we  certainly  should 
not  permit  a  reckless  and  indifferent  part  of  our  population  to  rear  their  chil- 
dren in  ignorance  to  become  a  criminal  and  lawless  class  within  our  community. 
We  should  rightfully  have  the  power  to  arrest  all  these  little  beggars,  loafers 

163 


lishment  and  maintenance  of  one  or  more  parental  schools (9)  in  Chicago 
similar  to  those  which  have  been  so  successful  elsewhere.  (10) 

and  vagabonds  that  infest  our  city,  take  them  from  the  streets  and  place  them 
in  schools  where  they  are  compelled  to  receive  education  and  learn  moral  prin- 
ciples. This  is  the  problem  of  the  day,  and  measures  cannot  be  taken  any  too 
soon  looking  toward  the  betterment  of  conditions  which  will  make  the  control 
of  this  class  easier  of  solution." — Theodore  J.  Bluthardt. 

(9)  "We  still  need,  however,  another  school.  These  children  may  be  divided 
into  two  classes — those  who  are  truants  from  school  and  not  given  to  any  other 
vice,  and  those  who  are  truants  from  school  and  home  and  given  to  many  other 
vices.  For  the  second  class  we  should  have  a  second  institution,  called  a 
school  of  detention  or  a  parental  school,  in  which  they  might  be  kept  day  and 
night  away  from  any  evil  influences  and  under  the  most  favorable  conditions 
for  reformation.  In'connection  with  such  school,  I  would  suggest  an  industrial 
department,  in  order  that  these  children  might  be  kept  constantly  employed 
and  be  trained  to  work.  By  thus  separating  this  class  of  children  their  evil 
influences  on  others  might  be  prevented,  and  at  the  same  time  many  of  them 
might  be  redeemed  from  vice  and  crime  and  become  use£ul  citizens. 

"Primarily,  the  truancy  problem  is  an  educational  problem  for  school  authori- 
ties to  deal  with,  not  a  matter  of  municipal  regulation  for  police  magistrates  to 
manage.  Not  until  truancy,  neglected  and  unchecked,  has  led  to  positive  crime 
ought  the  truant  to  be  handed  over  to  criminal  jurisdiction.  Not  until  educa- 
tion has  exhausted  all  means  of  prevention  and  reformation  should  the  truants  be 
surrendered  to  the  police  magistrates  for  punishment. 

"To  these  schools  are  sent  children  who,  after  repeated  warnings,  have 
failed  to  make  a  satisfactory  number  of  attendances  at  the  ordinary  day  schools, 
in  the  hope  that  the  strict  corrective  discipline  which  they  are  subjected  to  in 
them  will  make  them  less  inclined  to  play  truant  when  they  are  allowed  to  return 
to  their  homes.  The  terms  of  detention  vary  from  a  few  weeks  on  the  first 
commitment  to  a  few  months,  if  the  first  or  subsequent  commitments  have  not 
had  the  desired  effect.  The  average  length  of  detention  is  ninety-five  days."— 
Edwin  P.  Seaver,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1894  p.  543- 
('10)   For  a  fuller  treatment  of  the  parental  school,  see  Appendix  G. 

The  John  Worthy  Manual  Training  School  at  the  Chicago  Bridewell  is  in 
no  sense  a  true  parental  school,  and  should  not  be  confused  in  the  public  mind 
with  such  a  school  as  is  here  proposed. 


164 


iTrarijrrs'  institutes  anti 
a  EeathttB'  Utluarp 


ARTICLE   XV 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends  : 

SECTION  i. — that  teachers'  institutes,  similar  to  those  hereto- 
fore HELD  IN  CHICAGO,  BE  ENCOURAGED  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  : 
AND 

SECTION  2. THAT  A  LIBRARY  BE  ESTABLISHED  FOR  THE  USE  OF  TEACH- 
ERS WHICH  WILL  BE  OF  ASSISTANCE  TO  THEM  IN  EXTENDING  THEIR 
PROFESSIONAL    STUDIES. 

The  institutes  for  teachers  which  have  been  held  in  Chicago  during 
previous  years  have  been  favored  by  those  most  familiar  with  the  school 
system  of  Chicago,  and  have  won  the  hearty  approval  and  cordial  support 
of  the  great  majority  of  the  teaching  body.  Your  commission  regrets 
that  during  the  current  year  these  teachers'  institutes  have  not  been  held. 
They  involve  slight  expense  to  the  teaching  force,  and  the  sacrifice  which 
the  teachers  willingly  made  of  some  portion  of  the  summer  vacation,  was 
amply  compensated  for  by  the  enthusiasm  for  their  work  and  the  guidance 
m  their  studies  here  gained. 

Another  means  by  which  the  teachers  of  Chicago  may  be  able  to  con- 
tinue the  professional  studies  begun  in  the  normal  school,  is  the  privilege 
of  special  library  facilities  that  should  be  provided  for  them.  The  normal 
school,  even  in  its  best  and  most  adequate  form,  can  only  start  the  teacher 
on  the  road  toward  higher  professional  education.  It  is  for  the  interest 
of  the  city  to  encourage,  as  far  as  possible,  the  further  development  of 
the  teacher.  The  institute  is  one  important  means;  another,  which  the 
city  should  provide,  is  that  of  a  good  professional  library.  The  community 
assists  the  courts  and  the  lawyers  in  developing  special  legal  libraries, 
because  they  are  beneficial  to  the  interest  of  society.  It  should  also  assist 
to  a  still  greater  extent  the  teachers  in  the  formation  of  a  special  library 
which  can  bring  to  them  the  opportunities  of  a  continually  wider  and 
deeper  study  and  investigation  of  the  vital  problems  committed  to  their 
charge.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  teacher  in  this  city  who  desires  to  make 
a  thorough  investigation  of  that  particular  phase  of  public  education  in 

165 


which  he  may  be  engaged  can  find  adequate  library  facilities  for  this  work 
in  Chicago.  Indeed,  it  is  a  constant  wonder  to  one  who  has  examined 
this  question  in  different  cities,  to  see  what  little  provision  has  been  made 
to  encourage  the  teacher  to  find  out  what  other  men  have  done  or  are  doing, 
here  or  in  other  countries,  in  the  solution  of  the  same  problems  with 
which  he  is  contending  every  day  in  his  own  school  room.  The  proper 
kind  of  pedagogical  library,  placed  in  a  central  position  and  equipped  in 
such  a  way  as  to  be  utilized  easily,  would  perform  a  very  great  service 
in  raising  the  efficiency  and  scholarship  of  the  teachers  of  the  city.  Your 
commission,  therefore,  would  respectfully  invite  the  board  of  education 
to  consider  either  the  establishment  of  a  separate  teachers'  library,  or  the 
question  of  co-operation  with  some  public  institution  in  an  effort  to  accom- 
plish this  purpose^1) 

(i)  A  library  such  as  is  here  proposed  has  been  very  successful  in  other 
cities.  In  Philadelphia  Dr.  McAllister,  now  president  of  the  Drexel  Institute, 
but  for  many  years  superintendent  of  schools  in  that  city,  established  a  teachers' 
library  at  the  board  of  education  which  proved  of  more  service  than  any  other 
one  instrumentality  in  arousing  and  stimulating  a  progressive  spirit  among  the 
teachers.  Superintendent  Powell  has  secured  a  very  efficient  library  in  Wash- 
ington at  comparatively  slight  expense.  In  each  of  these  cities  the  work  has 
been  done  by  the  board  of  education  alone.  In  Cleveland,  at  the  suggestion  of 
President  Draper,  at  that  time  superintendent  of  schools,  the  board  of  education 
joined  with  the  public  library  of  that  city,  and  in  this  way  an  excellent  teachers' 
library  was  secured  at  slight  cost  to  each. 


166 


*ri)ool  faculties  anti 
ttfounrfls 


ARTICLE    XVI 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends : 

THAT  PROVISION  BE  MADE  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  FOR  THE  ESTAB- 
LISHMENT OF  SCHOOL  FACULTIES  AND  DISTRICT  COUNCILS  AND  A 
GENERAL  COUNCIL,  WITH  PROPER  REPRESENTATION,  TO  BE  CHOSEN 
WHOLLY  OR  IN  PART  BY  THE  TEACHERS  THEMSELVES,  AND  THAT  SUCH 
FACULTIES  AND  COUNCILS  BE  GIVEN  THE  RIGHT  OF  DIRECT  RECOM- 
MENDATION TO  THE  BOARD  ON  ALL  MATTERS  CONNECTED  WITH  THE 
EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM   OF  THE   CITY. 


When  your  commission  was  first  appointed,  a  series  of  questions  was 
submitted  to  the  teachers  of  the  city.  One  of  these  related  to  the  organi- 
zation in  both  the  elementary  and  the  high  schools  of  teachers'  faculties. 
These  were  suggested  primarily  to  facilitate  the  discussion  in  each  school 
of  the  questions  of  instruction  and  discipline  especially  affecting  it.  An 
organization  of  this  kind,  your  commission  believed,  would  recognize  the 
principle  of  local  autonomy  (*)  in  school  management,  which  is  in  accord 
with  recent  educational  thought,  and  would  offer  the  teachers  an  oppor- 
tunity to  make  their  experience  profitable  to  the  whole  system.  In  order 
to  secure  the  second  purpose  more  fully,  there  is  needed  not  only  faculties 
in  the  various  schools,  but  also  district  organizations  and  a  central  council. 

This  suggestion  made  by  the  commission  met  with  a  quick  response 
on  the  part  of  the  teachers,  thus  demonstrating  the  need  of  these  faculties 
and  councils.  Your  commission  is  not  prepared  to  say  that  the  form 
upon  which  the  teachers  settled  is  the  best.  This  question  is  one  for  solu- 
tion by  them,  although  the  board  of  education  may  fairly  insist  on  the 
proper  representation  of  various  classes  of  teachers  before  recognition  is 
given  these  bodies.     Such  recognition  was  proposed  in  the  new  legisla- 

(i)  "'Subject  to  the  approval  of  the  borough  board  of  superintendents  and 
as  the  by-laws  of  such  board  may  prescribe,  the  principal  of  each  school  shall 
direct  the  methods  of  teaching  in  all  classes  under  his  charge,  except  that  the 
school  board  may  adopt  by-laws  to  govern  in  the  case  of  special  classes."— 
Charter  of  the  City  of  Nezv  York,  Section  1,113. 

167 


tion  for  Boston (-),  is  felt  desirable  by  the  teachers  of  Chicago(3),  and 

is  a  move  which  is  favored  by  some  of  our  recognized  leaders  in  educa- 
tion. (4) 

(2)  "Section  3.  The  school  inspectors  appointed  as  herein  provided,  and 
thirty  teachers,  or  such  larger  number  as  the  school  committee  may  from  time 
to  time  provide,  elected  from  and  by  the  teachers  of  the  public  schools  of  said 
city,  not  including  temporary  teachers,  shall  constitute  the  school  faculty,  and 
said  school  committee  shall  adopt  rules  for  the  election  of  the  same,  so  that 
every  grade  of  instruction  and  every  school  that  does  not  fall  within  any  such 
grade  shall  be  represented;  said  school  faculty  shall  serve  without  extra  com- 
pensation, shall  consider  all  educational  subjects,  including  such  as  are  dis- 
ciplinary and  sanitary,  and  shall  make  such  recommendations  and  reports  to 
the  school  committee  as  said  faculty  may  deem  proper."— ^Massachusetts  School 
Laiv,  Act  Proposed  1898. 

(3)  "This  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  It  would  be  productive  of  untold 
good  to  the  schools  if  the  teachers  felt  that  they  had  a  right  to  speak  fearlessly 
and  that  their  recommendations  would  receive  serious  and  respectful  considera- 
tion by  the  board.  It  would  increase  their  self-respect.  It  is  a  shameful  fact 
that  most  teachers  are  afraid  to  speak  boldly  about  abuses  connected  with  the 
schools  in  which  they  are  employed." — A  Chicago  Principal. 

(4)  "For  the  participation  of  teachers  in  school  organization  there  are 
many  positive  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  the  community  needs  their  expert 
advice.  They  are  the  largest  body  of  men  and  women  in  this  country.  They 
are  in  better  position  than  their  supervisors  to  discover  at  least  the  minor 
defects  of  school  systems.  They  have  a  personal  interest  in  making  their  time 
and  thought  go  as  far  as  possible.  They  have  almost  a  mother's  opportunity  to 
study  child  life.  They  are  a  public-spirited  and  intelligent  body  of  people, 
performing  a  great  public  service.  Not  to  draw  upon  the  results  of  their  experi- 
ence is  to  waste  a  part  of  the  nation's  resources.  They  have  a  profession,  and 
the  only  profession  to  which  women  are  admitted  in  large  numbers.  In  the 
second  place,  the  teachers  need  the  stimulus  of  debate  and  of  formulating  opin- 
ions Avhich  go  on  record.  In  the  work  of  the  committee  of  fifteen  both  the 
report  on  the  training  of  teachers  and  that  of  school  organization  laid  great 
stress  on  the  need  of  careful,  professional  and  expensive  preparation  for  the 
arduous  calling.  What  would  more  attract  people  to  make  the  effort  than  a 
recognized  professional  status?  What  makes  Yale  University  the  vigorous, 
pushing,  forceful  institution  that  it  is?  The  governors?  In  part,  but  chiefly 
the  faculty — that  is,  the  teachers.  In  the  third  place,  the  superintendent  will 
not  be  harmed  by  organized  advice.  No  one  fears  a  teachers'  trade  union 
demanding  a  four-hour  day.  The  sub-committees  report  is  justly  incisive  on 
the  right  of  experts  to  manage  expert  matters.  'If  the  course  of  study  for  the 
public  schools  of  a  great  city  is  to  be  determined  bv  laymen,'  they  say  (page 
106,  line  18),  'it  will  not  be  suited  to  the  needs  of  a  community."  If  it  be 
determined  by  only  a  part  of  the  experts,  will  it  suit  the  community  any  better? 
In  the  school  machinery  the  teachers  should  be  a  part  of  the  upper  millstone 
and  not  of  the  nether.  In  the  fourth  place,  the  school  boards  need  such  direct 
relations  with  their  teachers.  How  can  the  co-operation  of  superintendents 
and  teachers  be  brought  about?  I  will  not  say  the  'correlation'  of  teachers 
and  superintendents,  because  that  is  an  explosive  word.  Something  valuable 
would  be  gained  if  every  superintendent  made  it  a  point  never  to  enter  upon 
important  changes  in  his  schools  without  previously  consulting  a  large  number 
of  leading  teachers  and  then  following  his  best  judgment.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  would  be  a  great  advantage  to  education  if  we  could  introduce  into  America 
the  successful  French  system  of  educational  councils.  In  France  every  import- 
ant administrative  official,  from  the  minister  down,  has  about  him  a  council, 
including  some  teachers,  whose  advice  he  is  bound  to  take  but  not  to  follow. 
He  assumes  the  responsibility,  but  never  without  informing  himself." — Albert 
Bushnell  Hart.  Harvard  University,  .V.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1895,  />.  393. 
'  t6R 


(Cms  us 


ARTICLE   XVII 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends : 

SECTION  I. THAT  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  BE  REQUESTED  TO  CON- 
SIDER THE  APPARENTLY  UNSATISFACTORY  METHOD  AND  RESULTS  OF 
THE  SCHOOL  CENSUS  AS  AT  PRESENT  ADMINISTERED; 

SECTION    2. THAT    WITH    THE    VIEW    OF    SECURING    GREATER    ACCURACY 

THE  TAKING  OF  THE  SCHOOL  CENSUS  BE  ASSIGNED  FOR  THE  PRESENT 
TO  THE  DEPARTMENT   OF   COMPULSORY   EDUCATION  J   AND 

SECTION    3. THAT   THE   BOARD   OF   EDUCATION    CONSIDER   FURTHER   THE 

ADVISABILITY  OF  CO-OPERATING  WITH  OTHER  CITY  BODIES  IN  AN  EFFORT 
TO  SECURE  A  CENSUS  WHICH  SHALL  BE  OF  SERVICE  TO  ALL  DEPART- 
MENTS OF  THE  CITY  GOVERNMENT,  AND  AT  THE  SAME  TIME  SATISFY 
THE  REQUIREMENTS  OF  THE  SCHOOL  LAW  CONCERNING  THE  DISTRIBU- 
TION  OF  THE  SCHOOL   FUND  OF  THE  STATE. 


In  its  investigations,  your  commission  has  been  impressed  at  various 
limes  with  the  apparent  inaccuracy  and  with  the  inadequacy  of  the  school 
census  as  at  present  prepared.  When  we  compare  the  census,  for  example, 
taken  in  1894  with  those  of  1896  and  1898,  we  are  confronted  with  what 
seem  to  be  manifest  errors.  These  have  not  only  entailed  additional  and 
undue  labor  on  the  department  of  compulsory  education,  which  has  been 
obliged  to  review  to  a  considerable  extent  the  work  of  the  census  officers, 
but  must  affect  the  administration  of  other  departments  of  the  board  of 
education. 

An  inaccurate  census  is  in  many  respects  worse  than  none.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  value  of  a  census  properly  taken  can  hardly  be  overesti- 
mated. The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  modern  science  can  be  put 
briefly  in  the  words  "accurate  measurements."  This  is  true  not  only  of 
the  natural  sciences,  but  also  of  social  policy.  Progress  can  be  made  only 
on  the  basis  of  accurate  and  careful  measurements  of  the  facts  of  human 
society.     This  explains  why  the  census,  using  the  term  in  a  large  sense, 

169 


has  become  of  such  vital  importance  in  our  modern  government.  It  is 
impossible  to  devise  reasonable  and  satisfactory  legislation  on  any  sub- 
ject in  these  days  unless  we  have  before  us  first  of  all  the  facts  in  regard 
to  the  subject,  which  may  be  presented  in  a  mathematical  or  statistical 
form.  In  this  city,  for  example,  it  is  not  possible  for  the  board  of  educa- 
tion to  know  how  many  buildings  are  needed  for  the  children  who  are 
required  by  law  to  be  in  attendance  upon  the  schools,  unless  they  know 
the  exact  number  of  such  children,  or  to  provide  in  any  adequate  way  for 
the  increase,  unless  they  know  the  rate  at  which  the  school  population  is 
increasing. 

The  present  method  of  taking  the  census  is  unsatisfactory,  and  your 
commission  believes  that  better  results  can  be  secured  if  this  work  be 
assigned  to  some  one  officer  of  the  board.  As  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn 
from  the  census  of  a  particular  year  are  of  especial  interest  and  service  to 
the  department  of  compulsory  education,  for  the  present  the  taking  of  the 
census  should  be  assigned  to  the  superintendent  of  that  department,  under 
the  general  supervision  of  the  superintendent  of  schools. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  board  of  education  under  the  present  law  to  take 
the  census  of  the  school  population,  but  that  other  parts  of  the  city  gov- 
ernment need  similar  data  for  intelligent  action,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
other  departments  than  the  board  of  education  are  also  engaged  in  taking 
more  or  less  accurate  censuses.  This  would  involve  a  useless  duplication, 
even  if  the  census  taken  by  each  of  the  departments  were  accurate  and 
satisfactory  for  its  purposes.  No  department,  however,  takes  at  present 
an  adequate  and  accurate  census.  Economy  and  efficiency,  therefore, 
would  be  secured  if  the  city  should  provide  for  the  taking  of  a  general 
census  in  such  a  way  that  it  may  be  available  for  all  departments  of  the 
city  government.  In  Boston  and  New  York,  a  special  census  bureau  has 
been  organized,  and  the  same  rule  holds  in  the  better  developed  and  better 
administered  cities  of  continental  Europe.  Your  commission  is  inclined 
tc  believe  that,  while  for  the  present  the  school  census  may  be  well  taken 
by  the  compulsory  education  department  of  the  board  of  education,  the 
city  would  do  well  to  organize  a  permanent  office  for  this  purpose. 


170 


gUcotnmofcatums 


ARTICLE    XVIII 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends : 

SECTION    I. THAT  STEPS  BE  TAKEN  PROMPTLY  TO  INCREASE  THE  SCHOOL 

ACCOMMODATIONS  OF  THE  CITY,  AND  TO  MAKE  THEM  AS  NEARLY 
ADEQUATE  AS  PRACTICABLE;  AND  THAT  SUCH  ACCOMMODATIONS  BE 
CONSIDERED  ADEQUATE  ONLY  WHEN  THERE  IS  A  SITTING  IN  A  PROPERLY 
CONSTRUCTED  AND  SUITABLY  SITUATED  BUILDING  FOR  EVERY  CHILD  OF 
SCHOOL  AGE  IN  THE  CITY  WHO  IS  NOT  ACCOMMODATED  IN  PAROCHIAL, 
PRIVATE  AND  OTHER  SCHOOLS  OUTSIDE  OF  THE  CITY  SYSTEM  ;  AND 

SECTION    2. THAT  AS  SOON  AS  THE  FINANCES  OF  THE  BOARD  WARRANT 

THE  EXPENSE,  THE  NUMBER  OF  PUPILS  ASSIGNED  EACH  TEACHER 
ACTUALLY  ENGAGED  IN  REGULAR  INSTRUCTION  IN  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 
BE   REDUCED^1)  

The  question  of  adequate  school  accommodations  has  stirred  public 
interest  deeply.  Chicago  in  this  respect  compares  favorably  with  New 
York,  but  falls  behind  many  other  of  our  larger  cities.  We  regret  that 
within  a  year  there  has  been  a  considerable  increase  in  the  number  of  chil- 
dren for  whom  no  proper  provision  is  made.  During  the  last  year,  2,500 
more  children  were  housed  in  rented  buildings  than  during  the  previous 
year(2),  and  nearly  5,000  more  were  taught  in  half-day  sessions,  than  was 
the  case  in  1896-7.  This  has  not  been  the  fault  of  the  board  of  education. 
It  is  rather  due  to  the  defective  provisions  of  the  school  law  applying  to 
the  city  and  the  failure  of  the  city  council  to  do  its  part  in  the  securing 
of  new  sites  and  buildings. (3)     The  present  deficiency  cannot  be  charged 

(!)  Reference  has  been  made  already  to  the  overcrowding  of  classes  in  the 
Chicago  schools.  The  point  seems  of  such  importance,  that  it  is  here  empha- 
sized again. 

(2)  In  a  growing  city  there  will  always  be  a  necessity  for  a  certain  number 
of  rented  school  buildings,  since  the  line  of  growth  cannot  always  be  so  exactly 
forecast  as  to  justify  the  erection  of  buildings,  especially  in  the  newer  portions. 

(3)  "Our  enrollment  for  the  year  1897-8  was  10.521  more  than  for  1896-7. 
and  yet  the  figures  above  quoted  show  that  we  have  not  made  satisfactory 
progress   in  the   matter  of  providing  additional   accommodations.     If  we  have 

171 


to  a  lack  of  money  for  building  purposes,  since  in  no  year  has  the  maximum 
levy  been  approached.  The  recommendations  already  made,  giving  abso- 
lute control  of  these  matters  to  the  board  of  education,  if  put  in  operation, 
will  obviate  the  present  difficulties.  There  is  no  question  but  that  the  city 
has  fallen  far  short  of  its  duty  in  the  matter  of  school  accommodations,  and 
your  commission  strongly  urges  that  immediate  steps  be  taken  to  solve 
satisfactorily  this  vital  problem. 

There  are  thirty  thousand  children  in  Chicago,  for  whom  full  and  fair 
provision  is  not  made.  Thirteen  thousand  are  in  rented  buildings,  which 
are  in  many  particulars  entirely  unsuited  for  school  purposes.  More  than 
seventeen  thousand  are  in  half-day  sessions,  every  one  of  whom  is  thereby 
deprived  to  a  considerable  extent  of  the  privileges  which  the  city  owes  the 
children  of  the  tax-payers.  These  are  very  startling  statements,  but  they 
by  no  means  represent  the  entire  truth.  While  thousands  are  deprived 
in  this  way  of  the  full  opportunities  which  the  public  system  of  educa- 
tion should  furnish,  there  are  tens  of  thousands  more  who  are  suffer- 
ing to  an  equal  degree.  It  is  an  almost  criminal  condition  of  things  which 
causes  children  to  attend  school  in  some  of  the  buildings  which 
the  board  of  education  has  been  obliged  to  rent.  It  is  manifest  injustice 
to  offer  others  three  hours  of  schooling,  while  their  more  fortunate  com- 
rades enjoy  five.  It  is  an  act  of  equal  injustice  to  assign  fifty  or  sixty 
children  to  one  teacher,  when  not  more  than  thirty  or  forty  can  receive 
proper  instruction  in  each  room.(4)  Experience  is  perfectly  clear  on  this 
point.  When  the  maximum  is  passed,  not  only  does  every  additional  child 
receive  less  than  suitable  attention,  but  every  pupil  in  the  particular  class 
is  necessarily  slighted  to  the  same  degree. (5)  It  is  a  false  economy  that 
lessens  the  value  of  school  instruction  by  at  least  fifty  per  cent.,  in  secur- 

a  substantial  balance  to  the  credit  of  the  building  fund,  it  is  due  to  the  failure 
of  the  city  council,  which  persists  in  its  determination  to  retard  the  work  of 
our  construction  department."— £.  G.  Halle,  President's  Report,  Chicago  Board 
of  Education,  1898. 

(4)  "To  what  extent  the  privision  for  school  room  is  inadequate  I  am  not 
able  to  report  definitely,  but  it  is  certainly  true  the  deficiency  is  very  great,  and 
the  deficiency  would  be  still  more  marked  if  the  number  of  pupils  assigned  to 
a  teacher  should  be  reduced  to  a  more  reasonable  figure.  I  believe  that  the 
assignment  of  forty-five  pupils  to  a  teacher  secures  a  sufficiently  large  maximum. 
If  the  quality  of  instruction  in  our  schools  is  the  thing  sought,  this  number  should 
not  be  exceeded." — A  Chicago  Superintendent. 

(5)  "The  custom  of  assigning  a  large  number  of  children  to  a  certain  teacher 
ignores  the  existence  of  visual  and  auditory  defects.  The  necessity  for  secur- 
ing a  recognition  takes  precedence  of  allowing  for  such  defects  or  for  fatigue. 
Heroic  efforts  fail  to  induce  the  child  to  turn  his  data  over  in  his  mind,  or  to 


mg  a  saving  of  less  than  twenty  per  cent,  in  school  expenses.  The  public 
has  not  yet  appreciated  the  full  importance  of  this  question.  The  supposi- 
tion that  it  is  possible  to  instruct  properly  the  same  number  of  children 
that  can  be  supervised  and  controlled  in  a  given  room,  is  erroneous.  The 
teacher  may  preserve  order  and  direct  the  work  of  fifty  or  even  sixty 
children.  It  is  absolutely  impossible  for  even  fairly  satisfactory  instruc- 
tion to  be  furnished  by  one  teacher  to  more  than  thirty  or  forty  children. 
The  opinion  of  those  who  have  the  greatest  experience  in  teaching  should 
be  followed  on  this  point. (6)  When  one  remembers,  moreover,  that 
the  length  of  the  average  recitation  in  the  more  crowded  grades  is  not, 
and  should  not  be,  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  the  danger  of  these 
large  classes  can  be  easily  conceived. (7) 

discriminate  for  himself  when  he  is  working  against  time.  Intellectual  devel- 
opment cannot  result  from  such  work.  The  teacher's  effort  to  keep  a  part  of 
her  pupils  merely  quiet  deprives  them  of  opportunity  for  choice.  Necessity 
for  exercise  of  his  will  finds  the  child  unprepared  because  of  lack  of  will  devel- 
opment. Unruly  conduct  and  truancy  are  the  natural  outcome.  Idleness  and 
lack  of  concentration  being  in  the  first  grade,  where  even  the  earnest  efforts  of  the 
teacher  cannot  compensate  for  lack  of  time  to  show  each  child  how  to  work. 
Instruction  in  the  correct  use  of  the  English  language  is  of  great  importance. 
The  attempt  to  instruct  large  classes  precludes  the  possibility  of  attention  to 
the  nice  use  of  English  in  every  subject.  The  considerations  enumerated  induce 
us  to  recommend  that  forty  pupils  should  be  the  maximum  number  assigned  to 
a  division  teacher,  and  that  two  teachers  should  be  employed  in  every  first 
grade  room  having  a  membership  of  more  than  thirty."— Ella  F.   Young  Club. 

(6)  "in  our  judgment  the  provision  for  pupils  is  and  always  will  be  deficient, 
so  long  as  there  is  not  a  school  building  suitably  located,  well  ventilated,  prop- 
erly lighted  and  heated,  and  one  room  for  each  forty  children  of  school  age 
who  desire  and  are  entitled  to  attend  the  same."— The  George  Howland  Club. 

(7)  The  over-crowding  of  classes  is  the  more  to  be  regretted,  because  it  occurs 
usually  in  the  densely  populated  sections,  where  education  is  most  needed  and 
where,  as  a  rule,  children  are  unable  to  attend  school  beyond  the  first  three  or 
four  years. 


173 


{Training  for 


ARTICLE    XIX 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends : 

SECTION     I. THAT   THE    BOARD   OF    EDUCATION    GIVE    IN    ALL   GRADES    OF 

THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  MORE  DETAILED,  SPECIFIC,  AND  SYSTEMATIC  PREP- 
ARATION FOR  GOOD  CITIZENSHIP  J 

SECTION    2. THAT    THIS     PREPARATION     BE    ADAPTED    TO    AWAKEN     AN 

ENLIGHTENED  SENTIMENT  OF  PATRIOTISM,  TO  GIVE  INSTRUCTION  IN 
THE  HISTORY  OF  OTHER  LEADING  FORMS  OF  GOVERNMENT  AND  THEIR 
RELATIONS  TO  OUR  OWN,  TO  COMMUNICATE  A  THOROUGH  KNOWLEDGE 
OF  OUR  LOCAL,  STATE,  AND  NATIONAL  FORMS  OF  POPULAR  GOVERNMENT 
AND  TO  EMPHASIZE  THE  DUTIES  AS  WELL  AS  THE  RIGHTS  OF  AMERICAN 
CITIZENSHIP  ; 

SECTION    3. THAT     HEREAFTER,     EVERY     CANDIDATE     FOR     POSITION     AS 

TEACHER  IN  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  BE  REQUIRED  TO  SHOW  PROOF 
OF  ABILITY  IN  THIS  KIND  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


The  importance  and  the  possibilities  of  instruction  in  civics  and  of  the 
general  training  for  good  citizenship  are  not  now,  we  believe,  sufficiently 
realized  in  the  public  schools.  It  is.  indeed,  gratifying  to  notice 
that  there  has  been  some  recent  revival  of  interest  in  this  phase  of  popular 
education.  The  patriotic  sentiments  symbolized  by  the  national  flag  have 
been  impressed  upon  pupils,  and  some  of  the  national  holidays  have  been 
suitably  celebrated  in  the  schools.  Some  attempt  has  been  made,  also, 
although  not  with  unvarying  success  (1),  to  reflect  in  the  schools  a  more 

(')  "In  a  society  with  this  as  its  constructive  idea,  it  is  essential  for  every- 
body i"  understand  that  personal  merit  is  the  only  valid  title  to  civic 
rank  and  social  consideration.  In  ibis  connection  I  assert  that  our  schools 
have  been  delinquent,  equivocal  and  sometimes  cowardly  in  eliminating  features 
of  the  older  regime  which  emphasized  the  fact  of  inequality  of  performance 
,,,,1  0  Far  of  merit.  Wherever  politics  has  laid  its  hand  on  the  schools  there 
has  persistently  appeared  a  tendencj  to  truckle  to  mob  demand  for  artificial 
leveling.      Sometimes  calculations  of  ail  entirely  different   tori  have  had  the  sam< 

174 


intelligent  idea  of  the  relation  of  the  individual  to  society.  Chicago  has 
done,  perhaps,  as  much  as  the  average  city  to  give  pupils  of  the  advanced 
grades  an  idea  of  government  in  general  and  of  our  American  local  and 
national  systems  in  particular.  But  much  more  can  undoubtedly  be  accom- 
plished if  the  subject  be  thoroughly  investigated  and  a  plan  devised  for 
continuous  and  graded  instruction,  either  separately  or  with  other  studies, 
from  the  kindergarten  through  the  high  schools.  (2) 

effect.  Influential  parents  with  good-for-nothing  children  have  had  to  be 
placated.  The  evident  evils  of  ranking  systems  have  had  to  be  avoided.  For 
these  and  other  reasons,  some  good  and  some  bad,  our  schools  of  to-day  are 
playing  into  the  hands  of  that  despicable  demigognery  which  holds  back  the 
realization  of  the  only  rational  democracy  by  catering  to  the  popular  conceit 
of  indiscriminate  equality.  No  one  thing  is  more  needed  in  American  life  to-day 
than  frank  admission  of  inequality,  with  all  that  it  implies.  Our  schools  are 
shirking  a  prime  responsibility  when  they  fail  to  make  real  inequalities  among 
the  students  apparent  and  impressive." — Albion  W.  Small,  University  of  Chicago. 

(2)  "In  this  connection  I  urge  upon  the  board  of  education  the  propriety 
of  increasing  the  instruction  in  civics  in  our  schools.  We  have  finally  arrived 
at  the  conviction — although  we  have  been  tardy  in  reaching  it — that  the  child 
is  an  entity  and  not  an  incident,  and  that  'concrete  instruction  in  civics  must  be 
increased  in  our  schools."  When  onr  children  have  ascertained  their  duties  as 
related  to  the  community,  we  will  have  less  spasmodic  patriotism  and  more 
stability  will  be  given  our  institutions." — E.  G.  Halle.  President's  Report.  Chi- 
cago Board  of  Education,  1897. 

"Some  knowledge  of  civil  government  should  also  be  given  in  early  oral  or 
language  work,  which  geography  should  have  enlarged  by  familiarizing  the 
pupil  with  the  chief  forms  or  national  organization,  and  the  historical  reading, 
already  referred  to.  have  enriched  with  details  of  the  growth  of  our  own  system, 
so  that  in  the  last  year  of  the  elementary  course  he  would  be  well  prepared  to 
take  up  somewhat  systematically  the  study  of  our  own  institutions.  Experience 
seems  to  have  demonstrated  the  feasibility  of  this,  and  no  one  will  deny  its 
desirability.  The  comparative  table  annexed  shows  how  it  has  been  introduced 
into  some  programs,  and  with  its  introduction  after  geography  and  history  the 
elementary  course  in  civics  becomes  fairly  satisfactory." — Report  of  Committee 
on  Elementary  Instruction.  X.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1898,  p.   104. 

"In  this  city  (Chicago)  we  have  an  army  of  225,000  school  children;  in  the 
nation,  15,000,000.  These  are  the  wards  of  the  state.  By  and  by  the  children 
will  have  to  grapple  with  all  these  problems  of  city  government  and  of  the  foreign 
and  domestic  policy  of  the  nation,  and  upon  their  training  now  depends  their 
ability  to  handle  them. 

"Investigation  and  experience  have  demonstrated  beyond  question  that  a 
careful  educational  training  is  the  best  possible  preparation  for  the  exercise 
of  the  right  of  franchise,  for  the  delegation  of  political  power  and  is  the  best 
safeguard  against  all  sorts  of  fanatical  schemes  and  social  vagaries. 

"In  the  consideration  of  this  subject  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  large 
part  of  our  children  are  of  foreign  extraction,  and  that  about  04  per  cent  of 
them  leave  the  public  schools  at  thirteen  or  fourteen  years-  tint  is.  they  do  nol  go 
beyond  the  primary  and  grammar  grades.  An  astonishingly  large  proportion 
of  them  do  not  get  above  the  fifth  and  sixth  grades.  How  to  make  the  most 
of  these  few  years  of  school  life  for  this  training  is  the  important  question. 

"I  believe  that  the  instruction  should  begin  in  the  kindergarten  under  the 
direction  of  trained  teachers ;  that  certain  ideas,  such  as  respect  for  and  obedi- 
ence to  parents,  of  honesty,  industry,  sobriety,  habits  of  attention  and  observa- 

175 


Cultivation  of  mind  and  character  is  of  course  the  best  preparation 
for  citizenship. (3)  But  we  believe  that,  in  addition,  direct  and  specific 
education — theoretical,  historical,  practical,  and  even  technical,  should — 
be  given  to  future  citizens. (4)  When  the  state  pays  the  bills  for  free 
education,  it  has  a  peculiar  right  to  the  public  benefits  of  that  education. 
The  character  of  citizenship  in  a  republic  determines  the  character  of  its 
government. 

For  some  of  the  grades  in  the  elementary  schools  suitable  text-books' 
in  English  upon  civics  are  lacking. (5)    France,  since  its  war  with  Germany, 

tion  should  be  inculcated.  This  work  should  be  followed  up  in  the  primary- 
grades,  where  the  habit  of  good  citizenship  should  be  further  cultivated,  and 
in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  the  work  should  be  broadened  and  a  wider 
knowledge  of  the  principles  and  functions  of  our  government,  of  history,  of 
law  and  justice  implanted,  and  higher  ideals  of  civic  needs  and  patriotism 
instilled  into  the  minds  of  the  pupils." — William  A.  Giles. 

(3)  ''American  citizenship  means  more  than  any  other  citizenship — not  only 
because  it  lives  and  flourishes  beneath  the  protection  of  the  freest  and  best 
institutions  in  the  world,  but  because  it  has  the  perpetuity  and  success  of  these 
institutions  absolutely  in  its  keeping  and  control.  *  *  *  In  order  that  the 
duty  and  responsibility  we  owe  our  government  may  be  fully  appreciated 
and  faithfully  discharged,  it  is  vitally  necessary  for  us  to  be  convinced  that 
we  cannot  delegate  to  others  the  work  required  of  us.  Each  individual  must 
with  his  own  hands  do  his  share.  In  this  way  our  government  was  built  and  in 
this  way  only  can  it  be  kept  in  fit  condition  for  the  habitation  of  free  Americans. 

"How,  then,  shall  the  people  protect  themselves  against  the  folly  of  a  depart- 
ure from  their  national  purposes  and  against  the  crime  of  unnecessary  and 
unjustifiable  war?  Manifestly,  by  an  intelligent  study  on  their  part  of  the  char- 
acter of  their  government  and  the  exaction  of  a  clear  apprehension  on  the  part 
of  those  who  would  represent  them  in  public  life,  of  their  nation's  mission 
and  of  the  baleful  effect  of  war  upon  their  nation's  health.  These  considerations 
emphasize  in  the  strongest  possible  manner  the  importance  of  a  larger  partici- 
pation by  thoughtful  and  educated  men  in  political  affairs. 

"Nothing,  however,  will  be  found  sufficient  as  a  protection  to  the  people 
against  betrayal,  if  conscience  and  moral  courage  are  lacking.  Intelligence, 
study  and  knowledge  are  not  protective  agencies  unless  they  are  regulated  and 
guided  by  a  conscientious  and  serious  desire  to  do  right  and  by  an  unswerving 
adherence  to  patriotic  conviction." — Grovcr  Cleveland.  June  21,  1898,  at  Laiv- 
renceville,  N.  J. 

(4)  "The  only  intelligent,  sytematic,  effective  method  of  teaching  patriotism 
in  our  schools  is  to  make  the  school  itself,  in  its  organization  and  government 
and  spirit,  an  ideal  democracy,  where  pupils  learn  to  practice  self-government, 
learn  reciprocal  rights  and  duties,  learn  loyalty  to  the  community  and  to  the 
national  flag,  truth,  honesty  and  public  spirit,  for  these  qualities  are  the  essentials 
of  patriotism.  *  *  :;:  Men  who  do  not  interest  themselves  in  the  affairs  of 
their  own  community,  from  its  board  of  health  to  its  public  schools,  are  enemies 
of  the  principle  of  self-government  and  of  the  whole  system  of  political  institu- 
tions founded  upon  it." — Chauncey  P.  Cole  grove. 

(5)  "While  these  ideas  must  be  largely  carried  out  by  the  teachers  as  a 
part  of  the  school  exercises  and  government,  and  in  connection  with  the  teach- 
ing of  history,  geography,  etc..  in  my  opinion  provision  should  be  made  for 
special  exercises  supplemented  by  skillfully  prepared  readings  and  text-books 
and  a  syllabus  or  topical   program   for  the  aid  and  direction  of  teachers.     We 

,70 


appears  to  have  far  surpassed  in  this  respect  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States.  Some  American  experts  who  are  endeavoring-  to  supply  this  want, 
deserve  encouragement.  In  the  kindergarten  and  primary  grades  trained 
and  patriotic  teachers  alone  can  meet  our  need.(6) 

When  pupils  are  old  enough  to  appreciate  practical  training  for  citizen- 
ship, we  believe  that  this  form  should  supplement  the  historical  and  the 
theoretical  training.  As  a  single  illustration,  we  may  mention  the  need 
of  education  in  the  use  of  the  modified  Australian  ballot.  A  great  number 
cf  defective  ballots  have  been  thrown  out  in  our  recent  elections.  Why 
should  not  the  older  pupils  in  our  schools  occasionally  go  through  the  form 
of  holding  an  election  in  accordance  with  the  state  law  and  with  the  usual 
-machinery?  We  look  with  favor,  also,  on  the  attempts  for  self-govern- 
ment of  pupils  which  have  afforded  training  in  creating,  obeying  and 
enforcing  wise  rules  and  regulations. (7)  We  believe  that,  while  there 
may  be  some  danger  of  over-emphasis  in  this  matter (8),  these  methods 

have  not  as  yet  any  well  prepared  set  of  text-books  and  reading  books  adapted 
to  the  primary  and  intermediate  grades,  nor  a  well  organized  system  for  this 
moral,  civic  and  patriotic  training." — William  A.  Giles. 

(6)  "It  is  now  generally  demanded  that  candidates  for  positions  as  grade 
teachers  pass  an  examination  in  the  fundamental  facts  of  national  science.  I 
believe  the  time  has  now  come  for  the  demand  to  be  as  general  that  all  such 
candidates  should  have  received  genuine  training  in  the  fundamental  facts  of 
our  political  and  industrial  systems."— Henry  W.  Thurston. 

(7)  Successful  efforts  in  this  direction  have  been  made  in  the  Hyde  Park 
High,  in  the  John  Crerar  and  in  other  schools  of  Chicago.     See  Appendix  H. 

(8)  "In  a  society  like  ours  it  is  imperative  that  everybody  shall  know  that 
respect  for  authority  is  a  necessary  element  in  the  civic  spirit.  The  conception  of 
education  as  a  process  of  leading  individuality  to  self-expression  has  been  a  most 
serviceable  abstraction,  but  when  you  make  it  a  formula  for  an  all-round  pro- 
gram of  education  you  turn  it  into  a  screaming  burlesque.  If  you  force  the 
self-expression  idea  beyond  a  certain  point  you  make  it  unsocial,  non-co- 
operative, disintegrating,  demoralizing,  anarchistic.  We  have  to  express  our- 
selves, but  there  is  something  immesurably  bigger  than  ourselves  which  we 
are  bound  to  help  express.  That  is  the  self-expression  of  humanity  as  repre- 
sented by  the  society  in  which  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being.  There  are 
ascertained  limits  to  the  latitude  within  which  the  self-expression  of  the  indi- 
vidual is  consistent  with  the  self-expression  of  the  whole  of  society.  Those 
limits  are  prescribed  in  laws  and  other  socially  recognized  signs  which  the 
individual  is  not  at  liberty  to  disregard.  Adequate  education  for  citizenship 
involves  development  of  sense  of  respect  for  the  authority  represented  by  these 
prescriptions.  There  are  some  things  which  citizens  are  bound  to  do  or  forbear, 
not  because  their  self  says  so,  but  because  society  says  so.  The  school  that 
fails  to  organize  discovery  and  practice  of  this  social  element  into  its  program 
is  a  serious  social   menace.     *     *     *     School  education  simply  turns  grit  into 

177 


and  experiments  in  the  hands  of  wise,  earnest  and  patriotic  teachers,  may 
help  largely  to  develop  the  instincts  and  habits  of  good  citizenship.  In 
this  connection,  the  attention  of  the  board  is  respectfully  invited  to  the 
formation,  in  some  of  the  Chicago  schools,  of  clubs  which  attract  the  atten- 
tion and  interest  of  pupils  to  questions  of  municipal,  state  and  national 
politics,  and  which  convey  much  knowledge  of  the  machinery  of  govern- 
ment. 

The  free  use,  elsewhere  suggested,  of  school  buildings  in  the  evening 
as  literary  and  social  centers,  might  well  be  extended  to  include  non- 
partisan civics.  We  would  recommend,  likewise,  that  wise  and  patriotic 
citizens, (9)  perhaps,  the  "resident  commissioners"  named  in  this  report, 
be  invited  to  co-operate  with  the  board  of  education  in  making  our  public 
schools  an  inspiration  to  good  citizenship. 

But  the  chief  means  by  which  pupils  in  our  public  schools  may  learn 
civics  must  be  found  in  properly  qualified  teachers.  We,  therefore,  suggest 
that  a  syllabus  (10)  be  prepared  and  used  for  the  guidance  of  the  present 

the  bearings  of  social  machinery  instead  of  substituting  more  fit  parts  for  those 
outworn,  if  it  teaches  boys  and  girls  that  constraint  is  no  part  of  the  law  of 
life.  I  am  not  pleading  for  a  regime  of  force  and  arbitrariness  and  tyranny 
in  the  schools.  I  am  warning  you  that  you  are  making  social  monstrosities 
out  of  the  pupils  if  you  let  them  get  the  notion  that  self  is  all  there  is  to  express. 
In  the  right  preparation  for  citizenship  there  must  be  just  balance  between  free 
self-assertion  of  the  individual  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  hand,  loyal  self- 
surrender  to  the  larger  self-assertion  of  the  whole  to  which  the  individual  belongs. 
It  is.  therefore,  not  a  disadvantage,  but  an  indispensable  advantage,  to  retain  in 
school  some  strong  features  of  authoritative  discipline  which  the  pupils  must 
observe  with  military  promptness  and  precision.  Straight-out  obedience,  not 
merely  sugar-coated  wilfullness,  is  a  needful  part  of  every  child's  education  for 
citizenship." — Albion  IV.  Small,  University  of  Chicago. 

(9)  "I  think  it  is  desirable  to  perfect  and  organize,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  various  educational  agencies  for  this  kind  of  work  under  a  special  committee 
to  be  appointed  by  the  mayor  or  board  of  education,  in  order  to  reach  the  great 
masses  with  systematic,  well-advised  instruction.  This  would  embrace  not 
only  the  training  and  instruction  in  day  and  evening  schools,  but  special  work 
in  which  parents  and  those  who  have  not  had  the  advantages  of  school  training 
might  participate.  Outside  co-operation  might  be  utilized,  as  is  done  in  other 
cities,  especially  in  Germany.  In  Berlin  many  hundreds  of  more  intelligent  citi- 
zens are  engaged  in  educational  work  outside  of  the  school  board,  or  as  a  branch 
of  it.  While  I  am  not  prepared  to  recommend  the  creation  of  an  auxiliary  board 
to  participate  in  the  management  of  school  affairs,  it  seems  to  me  it  might  be  feas- 
ible to  secure  in  this  work  the  aid  of  a  much  larger  class  of  citizens. — William  A. 
Giles. 

(10)  "X0  make  now  a  specific  recommendation.  I  believe  that  a  syllabus  of 
carefully  graded  and  progressive  exercises  for  guiding  the  form  of  teaching  in 

178 


force  of  teachers,  and  that  the  third  recommendation   in  this  article  be 
strictly  enforced. 

civics  in  the  grades  might  be  and  ought  to  be  prepared  as  soon  as  possible  and 
put  into  the  hands  of  every  grade  teacher.  Such  a  syllabus  should  from  the 
first  embody  the  experiences  of  many  of  the  best  grade  teachers  in  their  attempts 
to  teach  civics.  As  experience  accumulates,  it  could  undoubtedly  be  greatly 
improved.  The  syllabus,  however,  should  be  at  least  begun  at  once."— Henry 
W.  Thurston. 


179 


>rl)ool  iSuittittigg  an"b 
architecture 


ARTICLE   XX 


Your  Commission  respectfully  recommends  : 

SECTION    I. THAT  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  MAKE  SUCH  REGULATIONS 

FOR  THE  BUSINESS  MANAGER  AND  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  SCHOOLS 
AS  WILL  THROW  OPEN  TO  THE  WIDEST  COMPETITION  AMONG  ARCHI- 
TECTS  THE  PLANS   FOR  ANY   NEW    SCHOOL   BUILDING; 

SECTION  2. THAT  THERE  BE  NO  FIXED  RULES  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  ARCHI- 
TECTURAL APPEARANCE  OF  SCHOOL  BUILDINGS,  EXCEPT  THOSE  WHICH 
ARE  IMPLIED  IN  THE  REQUIREMENTS  OF  THE  SITE  CHOSEN,  THE  USE 
OF  THE  BUILDINGS  FOR  SCHOOL  PURPOSES,  AND  THE  AMOUNT  OF  THE 
APPROPRIATION    FIXED   BY   THE   BOARD ; 

SECTION  3.— THAT  THE  BUILDINGS  BE  OF  FIRE-PROOF  CONSTRUCTION 
AND   ADEQUATE  EXITS   BE   PROVIDED    FOR   EACH    BUILDING; 

SECTION    4. THAT    SCHOOL- YARDS      BE      PROVIDED      FOR      PLAY-GROUNDS 

WHEREVER  POSSIBLE;  AND  THAT,  IN  ADDITION  TO  THIS,  SPACE  BE  PRO- 
VIDED  FOR  A   SIMILAR  PURPOSE   WITHIN   THE  BUILDINGS   THEMSELVES  ; 

SECTION    5. THAT   THE    PRINCIPLES     OF     SANITARY    SCIENCE    BE    FULLY 

RECOGNIZED  IN  SCHOOL  BUILDINGS  IN  REGARD  TO  HEATING  AND  VENTI- 
LATION, AND  ESPECIALLY  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  SCHOOL  SANITATION  IN 
REFERENCE  TO  THE  LIGHTING  OF  ROOMS  AND  PROVIDING  OF  PROPER 
WARDROBES,  SUPPLY  OF  PURE  DRINKING  WATER,  AND  NECESSARY  TOILET 
FACILITIES  ; 

SECTION    6. THAT    THE    REQUIREMENTS    OF    THE    COURSE    OF    STUDY    BE 

CONSIDERED  IN  THE  ERECTION  OF  BUILDINGS,  SO  THAT  THE  PROPER 
FACILITIES  MAY  BE  GIVEN  FOR  INSTRUCTION  IN  ALL  SUBJECTS  IN  THE 
CURRICULUM;  THIS  IS  TO  APPLY  ESPECIALLY  TO  INSTRUCTION  IN 
MANUAL  TRAINING,    KINDERGARTEN,   AND  DOMESTIC   SCIENCE; 

SECTION    7. THAT  SUITABLE  ACCOMMODATIONS  FOR  WORK   IN  PHYSICAL 

CULTURE  BE  PROVIDED  WHEREVER  POSSIBLE,  AND  IF  NECESSARY,  IN  THE 
ASSEMBLY    HALL   OR    PLAY-ROOM  J 

SECTION    8.— -THAT  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  BUILDINGS  BE 

ADAPTED    TO    THE    EASY    TRANSFER     OF      PUPILS    FROM    ONE    ROOM     TO 

ANOTHER  ; 

180 


SECTION    9. THAT  THE  EQUIPMENT  AND  GENERAL  FURNISHING  OF  EACH 

ROOM  USED  FOR  SPECIAL  SCHOOL  PURPOSES  BE  MADE  MORE  NEARLY 
ADEQUATE  FOR  SUCH  PURPOSES,  AND  FURTHER  EFFORTS  BE  MADE  TO 
RENDER  THE  APPEARANCE  OF  ALL  SCHOOL  ROOMS  ATTRACTIVE  AND 
ARTISTIC  ; 

SECTION    IO. THAT     THESE      RECOMMENDATIONS    BE    CARRIED    OUT,    SO 

THAT   THE    RESULTS   DESIRED     MAY     BE     SECURED    WITPI    ALL    POSSIBLE 

economy; 
section  ii. — that  a  fixed  principle  be  adopted  in  the  naming  of 
school  buildings  only  after  distinguished  persons,  and  that 
none  receive  the  name  of  living  residents  of  this  city; 

SECTION    12. THAT    IN    VIEW    OF    THE    FACT    THAT     A     LARGE    SUM    OF 

MONEY  IS  NOW  ANNUALLY  SPENT  IN  THE  RENTING  OF  BUILDINGS 
WHICH  ARE  IN  MOST  CASES  ILL-ADAPTED  FOR  SCHOOL  PURPOSES,  BONDS 
BE  ISSUED  FOR  THE  SECURING  OF  SCHOOL  SITES  AND  FOR  THE  ERECTION 
OF   BUILDINGS   ADEQUATE   TO   THE   PRESENT    NEEDS. 


No  part  of  school  administration  has  aroused  within  recent  years  more 
general  interest  than  the  subject  of  school  architecture.  The  public  has 
gradually  been  brought  to  see  the  importance  of  this  problem^),  and  in 
our  larger  cities  the  day  of  badly  constructed  buildings  is  past.  Boards 
of  education  have  awakened  to  the  vital  necessity  of  well-arranged  and 
sanitary  schools (2)  and  have  realized  that  school  architecture  has  hitherto 
not  received  the  consideration  that  its  far-reaching  influence  demands.  (3) 

(1)  "Like  a  bit  of  fresh  air  coming  through  an  open  window  into  an  ill- 
ventilated  room,  within  the  last  decade  there  has  swept  all  over  the  land,  pene- 
trating even  into  the  rural  districts,  the  first  breath  in  growing  interest' in  the 
sanitary  condition  of  our  school-houses,  conditions  which  have  so  much  to  do 
with  the  health  of  our  future  citizens,  who  in  many  places  are  spending  half 
of  their  waking  hours  in  poorly  ventilated,  badly  lighted  and  uncleanly  school- 
rooms. It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  much  of  the  alarming  increase  in 
defective  vision  may  be  charged  to  this  source,  as  also  that  the  delicate  lung 
tissues  are  permanently  injured  and  the  whole  system  wrecked  by  this  daily 
inhalation  of  vitiated  air,  at  a  time,  too,  when  the  child  should  be  laying  a 
firm  foundation  for  physical  as  well  as  mental  development." — Jason  E.  Ham- 
mond, State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Michigan. 

(2)  "Now,  as  boards  of  education,  I  feel  that  we  ought  to  take  an  advanced 
position  in  this  matter,  and  in  the  construction  and  furnishing  of  our  school 
buildings  keep  in  view  the  main  object  of  education  and  its  effect  upon  the  future 
of  this  country." — Edmund  S.  Dewey,  in  American  School  Board  Journal, 
Easter  Number,  1898. 

(3)  "Of  all  types  of  buildings,  the  school  building  stands  out  most  conspicu- 
ously in  its  want  of  rational  treatment.  To  secure  a  perfectly  sanitary,  useful, 
convenient,    practical,    and,    lastly,    ornamental    success    in    a    school    building, 

181 


Chicago  has  among  the  school  buildings  recently  erected  admirable  exam- 
ples of  what  such  buildings  should  be.  The  sites  have  been  in  general 
well  chosen,  with  due  regard  to  school  needs,  although  this  end  would 
have  been  more  fully  gained  in  many  cases  if  the  board  of  education  had 
been  able  to  condemn  properties  distinctly  required  for  its  purposes. 
School-yards  have  been  provided  where  it  seemed  feasible.  This  feature 
we  especially  commend,  and  in  further  extension  of  school  accommoda- 
tions we  believe  that  it  should  be  followed  invariably.  There  can  be  no 
question,  also,  that  fire-proof  construction  should  be  insisted  upon,  and 
that  the  same  care  should  be  given  as  heretofore  to  securing  proper  heat- 
ing and  ventilation.  Some  criticism  has  been  heard  from  competent 
authorities  in  regard  to  the  lighting  of  school-rooms,  and  the  attention 
of  the  board  of  education  is  invited  to  this  point.  (4)  While  the  general 
arrangement  of  our  newer  buildings  is  to  be  commended,  we  believe  that 
greater  variety  in  architectural  appearance  would  add  to  the  attractiveness 
of  the  schools  and  to  the  beauty  of  the  city.  To  this  end  we  suggest  com- 
petitive plans  from  the  best  professional  architects. 

Since  in  our  elementary  schools  many  studies  have  been  added  recently 
which  require  the  fitting  of  special  rooms,  we  recommend  that  due  refer- 
ence to  these  be  taken  in  the  plans  of  new  buildings.  Manual  training, 
that  is,  wood  work  for  boys  and  domestic  science  for  girls,  will  prove,  we 
hope,  a  permanent  feature  of  our  course  of  study,  and  proper  accommo- 
dations should  be  furnished.  More  may  be  done  perhaps  in  equipping 
for  work  in  physical  culture,  and  every  school  building  should  be  provided 
with  a  good  assembly  hall  properly  lighted  for  evening  use.  In  the  sec- 
ondary schools  we  believe  that  better  provision  should  be  made  for  the 
free  movement  of  pupils  from  room  to  room(5),  and  we  note  in  this  con- 
nection the  introduction  of  elevators  in  the  larger  schools  of  other  cities.  (6) 

No  sound  principle  has  been  followed  in  the  naming  of  school  buildings 
in  Chicago,  and  the  list  at  present  is  decidedly  incongruous.     While  it  is 

deserves  the  serious  attention  of  every  right-minded  architect  and  every  public- 
spirited  man  connected  with  the  school  system." — A.  H.  Kirchner,  Architect 
St.  Louis  (Mo.)  School  Board,  N.  E.  A.  Proceedings,  1898. 

(4)  "The  medical  inspection  of  the  schools,  not  only  in  regard  to  the  sani- 
tary condition  of  the  school-house,  but  in  regard  to  the  physical  condition  of 
the  children,  it  seems  to  me  should  receive  more  attention.  There  should  be  a 
medical  inspector  for  every  large  building,  at  least.  He  should  be  paid  a  salary 
sufficient  to  insure  the  services  of  a  competent  man,  and  his  duty  should  be  very 
clearly  defined."— Henry  Sabin,  Ex-State  Superintendent  of  Instruction.  Iowa. 

(5)  This  need  arises  from  the  customary  shifting  of  the  pupils  in  the  high 
schools  to  different  rooms  at  the  end  of  each  school  period. 

(6)  Philadelphia  and  Detroit. 

182 


well  that  the  names  of  men,  distinguished  in  the  history  of  the  city,  should 
be  thus  honored,  it  is  safer  not  to  use  names  of  living-  residents. 

The  prime  necessity  of  additional  school  buildings  in  Chicago  has  been 
treated  at  length.  This  is  a  problem  which  has  confronted  other  cities. (7) 
Chicago  should  not  fall  behind  New  York,  which  at  great  sacrifice  is  deter- 

(")  "The  subject  of  school  building  is  an  all-absorbing  topic  in  most  of  the 
large  cities  and  towns  of  this  country,  as  well  as  in  some  of  those  in  the  old 
world.  In  England,  suffering  from  overcrowding  exists  to  such  a  degree  the 
school  boards  in  many  places  are  hiring  temporary  quarters  wherever  possible. 
In  London  alone,  forty  school  buildings  are  under  construction,  not  one  of  which 
approach  in  size  and  accommodation  the  average  public  school  building  of  New 
York.  The  claim  is  made  that  this  most  universal  lack  of  schools  is  caused  by 
phenomenal  increases  of  population  and  want  of  a  proper  appreciation  of  the 
fact.  It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  any  administration  awakening  to  a  full 
realization  of  affairs,  would  hesitate  before  increasing- the  tax  budget  $5,000,000 
or  $6,000,000  in  any  one  year.  It  is  perhaps  for  this,  as  well  as  for  other  rea- 
sons that  the  board  of  education  in  New  York  suffered  and  did  the  best  possible 
with  the  amounts  offered  from  year  to  year  for  new  schools  to  meet  the  ever 
increasing  population. 

"From  1884  to  1897  inclusive,  bond  issue  for  public  school  purposes  was 
authorized  to  the  amount  of  $33,000,000 :  93  school  sites  were  acquired  and  94,- 
900  sittings  furnished.  Notwithstanding  the  large  amounts  appropriated,  from 
time  to  time,  immediate  results  therefrom  were  not  available,  as  the  process  of 
condemnation  sometimes  occupied  upwards  of  twenty  months.  The  result  was 
the  passage  of  a  law  limiting  the  time  of  condemnation  to  six  months,  and  this 
has  been  finally  reduced  to  four  months.  Within  the  next  two  and  a  half  years 
New  York  will  have  provided  nearly  150,000  sittings 

"The  selection  of  the  school  sites  has  been  a  problem.  Careful  consideration 
of  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  proximity  to  anything  that  might  create  a  nui- 
sance or  cause  annoyance  to  the  work  of  the  school,  is  necessary. 

"Wise  legislation  and  marvelous  development  in  building  methods  and  the 
cheapening  of  the  introduction  of  new  materials,  has  placed  New  York  in  the 
enviable  position  of  not  having  erected  any  but  fire-proof  public  school  buildings 
since  the  year  1892.  High  school  and  college  buildings  have  been  erected  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  of  fire-proof  construction,  but  New  York  is  the 
only  city  thus  far  that  has  made  provision  for  housing  the  helpless  little  children 
in  structures  of  this  character.  Boston  is  preparing  to  follow  the  example  set, 
but  shrinks  from  the  task  even  as  she  marvels  how  New  York  introduces 
gymnasiums  and  many  other  features  in  elementary  school  buildings  while  in 
Boston  they  are  found  only  in  the  high  school. 

"The  older  school  buildings  have  been  noted  for  their  dark,  unwholesome, 
low-ceiled  play-rooms ;  lack  of  opportunity  to  obtain  fresh  water  for  drinking 
purposes;  inadequate  and  inferior  sanitary  accommodations;  lack  of  out-door 
play-grounds;  small,  dark,  close  rooms,  over-heated  and  unventilated,  and  with 
two  or  three  children  seated  at  one  long  desk  ;  wardrobes  in  the  clas>-r<  11  >ms  ;  lack 
of  room  for  physical  and  manual  training,  etc. 

"In  every  one  of  our  new  buildings  successful  effort  has  been  made  to  meet 
these  criticisms.  In  the  first  and  most  essential  particular  they  are  fire-proof 
throughout,  of  steel  skeleton  construction,  with  steel  beams  and  brick  arches  for 
the  ventilation  of  the  floor  system  ;  terra  cotta  partitions,  iron  and  stone  stairs  and 
an  abundance  of  light  and'  air.  The  indoor  play-rooms  are  large  and  unob- 
structed by  interior  walls.  They  are  about  on  a  level  of  tin  streel  and  have  high 
ceilings  with  plenty  of  air  and  light.  Their  floors  are  paved  with  rock  asphalt 
similar  to  the  street  pavements.  Drinking  facilities  are  furnished  so  thai  fifty 
or  sixty  children  can  obtain  water  at  the  same  time,  the  troughs  to  receive  the 
waste  being  so  designed  that  the  children's  clothing,  large  or  small,  is  not  wet 

183 


mined  upon  remedying-  immediately  a  situation  which  is  far  worse  than 
that  prevailing  in  Chicago,  and  which  will  involve  at  least  five  times  the 
expenditure  necessary  here.  We  believe  that  steps  should  be  taken  imme- 
diately to  repair  our  admitted  deficiencies,  either  by  issuing  school  bonds 
for  sites  and  buildings,  or  by  levying  for  a  few  years  the  maximum  tax 
allowed  by  state  law  for  these  purposes. (8) 

from  the  spattering  of  the  water.  The  sanitary  conditions  are  most  adequate. 
The  side-walls  of  the  closets  are  lined  with  glazed  brick,  the  floors  paved  with 
asphalt  and  the  roof  is  usually  provided  with  skylights,  in  order  to  avoid  dark 
corners  and  consequent  uncleanliness — for  darkness  and  uncleanliness  go  hand 
in  hand ;  in  fact  they  are  inseparable. 

"The  class-rooms  contain  about  625  square  feet,  lighted  usually  by  one  large 
opening  often  16  feet  wide  by  19  feet  in  height,  thus  avoiding  the  cross  lights  that 
are  so  injurious  to  a  child.  Forced  ventilation  is  provided  on  the  basis  of  thirty 
cubic  feet  of  fresh  air  per  capita  per  minute.  The  children  are  provided  with 
single  desks  and  seats  of  the  adjustable  pattern  with  isles  between  each  row. 
All  wardrobes  for  clothing  are  placed  outside  the  class-rooms,  steam  pipes  being 
introduced  where  practicable  to  dry  and  warm  the  clothing  and  induce  a  circula- 
tion of  fresh  air.  The  fifth  stories  of  the  newer  buildings  are  fitted  up  for  manual 
training.  Each  building  is  wired  for  electric  lighting,  some  having  their  own 
dynamos  complete,  thus"  making  them  available  for  evening  schools  and  lecture 
purposes. 

"With  a  site  costing  $14,000  per  square  foot,  or  $300,000  for  a  building  cover- 
ing little  over  eight  city  lots,  the  amount  of  ground  which  can  be  given  for  out- 
door play-ground  is  a  problem.  The  solution  has  been  found  by  providing  in 
addition  to  the  indoor  play-room  on  the  first  floor  and  the  outdoor  play-ground 
at  the  rear  of  the  building,  a  roof  play-ground,  well  protected  with  fencing, 
located  well  above  the  adjoining  houses.  The  extent  in  square  feet  of  play- 
grounds of  the  newer  buildings  average  about  as  follows :  Inside  play-ground, 
11.229;  outside  play-grounds,  4.224;  roof  play-grounds,  9.527. 

"The  plan  of  school  number  165,  is  in  the  form  of  a  letter  H,  being  placed  with 
the  ends  of  the  wings  resting  on  the  street  lines  and  the  main  part  of  the  building 
parallel  with  the  longer  axis  and  the  block  thus  forming  blank  walls  along  the 
lines  of  the  adjoining  property  and  effectually  shutting  out  all  nuisances.  Light 
for  the  class-rooms  is  taken  from  the  courts  on  either  side  and  facing  the  streets, 
being  self-contained  as  to  air  and  light,  while  opportunity  for  architectural  effect 
is  not  wanting. 

"The  average  cost  per  square  foot  of  the  non-fire-proof  four-story  building  as 
erected  a  few  years  ago,  was  about  $14.25.  The  cost  of  a  five-story  fire-proof 
building  as  recently  erected  is  but  about  $1.60  per  square  foot  more,  and  it  is 
possible  that  in  the  development  of  this  type  of  architecture  this  difference  will 
be  almost,  if  not  quite,  eliminated  in  the  near  future." — C.  B.  J.  Snyder,  in  Educa- 
tional Review,  January,  1898. 

(8)  If  the  issue  of  school  bonds  be  authorized,  interest  on  these  would  be 
largely  met  through  the  saving  of  rentals,  now  paid  by  the  board.  On  the  othcr 
hand,  if  the  maximum,  allowed  for  building  purposes,  were  levied  for  three  01 
four  years,  ample  accommodations  could  be  furnished. 


184 


2lppentit;ce0. 


&ppcnD(j:  A. 


COMPARATIVE    STATEMENT    OF    SALARY     SCHEDULES    AND     PER 
CAPITA  COST  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

To  make  any  fair  comparison  of  teachers'  salaries  is  difficult.  Not  only  do  living 
expenses  greatly  vary  in  different  cities,  but  the  requirements  made  of  teachers  in 
the  way  of  preparatory  training  and  of  continuous  study  after  appointment,  both  of 
which  involve  considerable  expense,  are  far  greater  in  some  cities  than  others.  These 
points  should  be  considered  carefully  in  the  fixing  of  teachers'  salaries,  but  they 
introduce  much  confusion  into  a  comparative  statement  of  schedules.  A  city  has 
the  right  to  demand  the  best  service  available  for  the  salaries  paid  and  unless  inade- 
quate or  unjust  requirements  are  made  for  admission  and  promotion,  the  best 
teachers  will  be  secured.  If  Boston  and  New  York  are  able  and  willing  to  pay 
proportionately  more  to  teachers  than  Baltimore  or  Washington,  they  have  a  right 
to  expect  a  more  competent  force.  Chicago  compares  favorably  with  other  cities  in 
the  average  pay  of  teachers,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  following  summary,  and  if  the 
teaching  body  fails  in  efficiency,  the  reason  must  be  sought  rather  in  an  irrational 
proportionment  of  salaries  and  in  an  unsound  plan  of  promotion. 

In  Boston,  the  minimum  salary  for  primary  and  grammar  school  teachers  is  $552 
and  the  maximum  salary  is  $936,  reached  in  the  ninth  year  of  service.  Philadelphia 
pays  a  minimum  salary  of  $470  to  primary  teachers  and  of  $670  to  teachers  in  the 
grammar  schools.  The  maximum  reached  after  five  years'  service  is  $620  in  the 
primary  schools  and  $820  in  the  grammar  schools,  with  an  additional  $50  for  eighth 
grade  teachers  and  a  special  schedule  for  men  teachers  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades,  with  a  maximum  of  $980  and  $1,050  respectively.  In  St.  Louis,  elementary 
teachers  are  classed  as  first,  second,  and  third  assistants,  with  salaries  varying  from 
$400  to  $500  for  the  first  year,  and  from  $560  to  $700  for  the  fifth  year,  after  which 
there  is  no  further  advance.  Brooklyn  pays  a  minimum  of  $400  and  with  gradual 
advances  a  maximum  of  $700  to  primary  teachers  after  six  years'  service.  Grammar 
school  teachers  reach  a  maximum  of  $1,000  after  seven  years.  The  highest  salary- 
paid  to  elementary  teachers  in  Cincinnati  is  $700  for  primary  and  $800  for  grammar 
grade  teachers,  attained  by  length  of  service  and  success.  Cleveland  fixes  a  maxi- 
mum of  $700  for  primary  and  $75«  for  grammar  school  teachers,  dependent  only 
upon  length  of  service.  The  minimum  salary  for  primary  and  grammar  school 
teachers  in  Chicago  is  $500  and  the  maximum  of  $1,000  is  reached  after  ten  years' 
service.  The  following  comparative  table  of  salaries  of  teachers  in  high  schools  was 
prepared  by  a  committee  of  the  secondary  school  teachers  of  Chicago. 


Albany,  N.  Y. 

Boston,  Mass 

Buffalo,  N.  Y 

Baltimore.  Md 

Chicago,  111. 

Cincinnati,  O 

Cleveland,  O 

Columbus,  O. 

Detroit,  Mich 

Denver,  Colo 

Hartford,  Conn 

Indianapolis,  Ind... 
Kansas  City,  Mo.  -- 

Louisville,  Ky 

Milwaukee,  Wis 

Newark,  N.  J 

New  Haven,  Corin.- 

New  York,  N.  Y 

Omaha,  Neb. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  - 

Pittsburg,  Pa 

Providence,  R.  I.  -- 

Rochester,  N.  Y 

St.  Paul,  Minn. 

-San  Francisco,  Cal. 

St.  Louis,  Mo 

Syracuse,  N.  Y 

Toledo,  O 

Washington,  D.  C.  - 
Worcester,  Mass.  .— 


S-,500 
3,060 
1,600 
i.Soo 
2,800 
2,100 
1,600 
1,600 
1,800 
1,700 
2,500 
1,500 
2,000 
1,800 
1,700 
2,000 
1,800 
3,000 
1,400 
3,000 
1,700 
2,000 
2,300 
1,400 
1,860 
2,400 
1,500 
1,500 
1,500 
2,300 


Si, 000 

1.17'' 
600 

850 

1,200 
800 
800 
700 
800 

1,500 
800 
810 

1,000 
900 

1,200 
690 
900 
700 
500 
650 
600 

1,000 
700 

1,200 
700 

1,000 

800 

500 

800 


Maximum.    Minimum 


$    800 

1,836 
1,500 
1,200 
2,000 
1,200 
1,600 
1,400 
1,400 
1,200 
1,500 

1,200 
1,250 
1,700 

1,200 
2,500 
1,400 
I-550 

2,000 

9OO 

1,100 

1,860 

2,400 
800 

1,200 

1,100 

1,000 


S    700 

972 

400 
600 

850 

600 

800 

700 
700 

800 

"675 

1,000 
900 

600 
900 
700 
400 

600 
600 
400 

1,200 

700 

550 
800 

400 
600 


These  comparative  statements  show  that  Chicago  has  acted  generously  in  fixing 
the  salaries  of  the  teaching  force  and  has  therefore  a  right  to  demand  well-trained, 
efficient  and  enthusiastic  teachers.  The  average  pay  of  teachers  does  not,  however, 
determine  fully,  and  perhaps  not  even  in  the  largest  measure,  the  excellence  of  the 
teaching  body.  The  salaries  of  different  positions  must  be  carefully  proportioned. 
Length  of  service  should  be  the  primary  but  not  the  important  basis  in  allotting 
increase  of  pay.  /Successful  experience  and  .increased  scholarship  should  be  reckoned 
more  vital  conditions  of  promotion.  The  salary  schedule  of  a  city  should  be  framed 
with  the  main  idea  of  securing  and  recognizing  the  presence  of  these  qualities  in  the 
teaching  body. 

Of  our  large  cities,  New  York  seems  to  have  taken  the  soundest  stand  in  this 
matter.  The  salary  schedule  of  the  boroughs  of  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx,  adopted 
in  January,  1898,  was  drawn  up  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  city  charter. 

The  salaries  of  all  elementary  teachers,  except  those  in  the  service  of  the  board  at 
the  time  this  by-law  became  effective,  are  determined  by  the  following  schedule : 


188 


teachers'  salary  (men). 

Probationary  year,    salary $    720 

Grade  i— Minimum  salary  for  regular  teachers •  ■  •  • ■  •  1,000 

Grade  2— Those  who  have  taught  three  years  in  Grade  i  are  eligible  to  apply 

for   1 .350 

Grade  3— Those  who  have  taught  two  years  in  Grade  2  are  eligible  to  apply  for.  1,620 

Grade  4— Those  who  have  taught  two  years  in  Grade  3  are  eligible  to  apply  for.  1,890 

Grade  5— Those  who  have  taught  two  years  in  Grade  4  are  eligible  to  apply  for.  2,250 

teachers'  salary  (women). 

Probationary   year,    salary $    504 

Grade  1— Minimum  salary  for  regular  teachers •  •  570 

Grade  2— Those  who  have  taught  three  years  in  Grade  1  are  eligible  to  apply 

for   750 

Grade  3— Those  who  have  taught  two  years  in  Grade  2  are  eligible  to  apply  for.  936 

Grade  4— Those  who  have  taught  two  years  in  Grade  3  are  eligible  to  app  y  for.  1,1  iO 

Grade  5— Those  who  have  taught  two  years  in  Grade  4  are  eligible  to  apply  for.  1,350 

No  discrimination  is  made  in  the  pay  of  different  years  in  the  elementary  schools, 
but  it  is  understood  that  teachers  who  receive  the  highest  salaries  are  to  be  assigned 
in  general  to  the  first  primary  grade  and  to  the  last  two  grades  of  the  grammar 
schools.  The  admission  or  promotion  of  teachers  to  each  of  the  five  grades  referred 
to  in  the  above  schedule  is  based  upon  an  examination  to  establish  the  "fitness"  and 
"merit"  of  the  applicants,  which  are  ascertained  in  the  following  manner  : 

"  'The  fitness'  of  the  candidate  shall  be  determined  by  an  inquiry  and  ex- 
amination in  relation  to  the  following  matters,  namely:  (1)  Personal  character- 
istics, in  which  shall  be  included  morals,  habits,  temperament  and  health ;  (2)  Rec- 
ord as  a  teacher  as  shown  by  the  reports  of  the  city  superintendent  and  assistant 
superintendents  during  the  period  covered  by  services  in  the  grade  from  which 
advancement  is  sought,  and  by  statements  both  oral  and  written  of  the  principal  or 
principals  under  whom  the  candidate  may  have  taught  during  such  period,  as  to 
results  obtained  by  him  or  her  in  the  attendance,  scholarship,  discipline  or  promo- 
tions of  his  or  her  classes;  (3)  The  personal  qualifications  as  a  teacher,  namely: 
Ability  to  impart  instruction  to  classes,  ability  to  maintain  discipline,  familiarity  with 
the  by-laws,  rules  and  regulations  of  the  board  of  education  applicable  to  class 
instruction  and  discipline. 

"The  'merit'  shall  be  determined  by  a  written  examination  in  the  general  knowl- 
edge of  the  candidate  in  the  methods  of  teaching  the  subjects  of  instruction  which 
will  be  required,  and  also  in  such  subject  or  subjects  as  the  applicant  may  select, 
which  broaden  the  general  culture  of  a  teacher  in  any  direction,  as  well  as  in  dis- 
tinctively school  work;  and  the  use  of  the  English  language  and  grammar  shall  be 
considered  in  determining  the  value  of  the  applicant's  work. 

"The  written  record  of  the  examination  both  as  to  'fitness'  and  'merit'  shall  be 
preserved. 

"The  result  of  the  examination  for  'fitness'  shall  count  50  per  cent  in  the  general 
average,  and  the  examination  for  'merit'  50  per  cent." 

The  minimum  salary  of  principals  of  elementary  schools  is  $2,750  for  men  and 
$1,700  for  women.  After  three  years'  service  in  each  class,  men  may  apply  for 
$3,000  and  again  for  $3,250,  and  women  for  $2,000  and  $2,200.  Men  principals  who 
supervise  thirty  or  more  classes  receive  an  addition  of  $250  and  women  an  additional 

189 


$300.  The  maximum  salary,  however,  for  men  principals  who  supervise  nine  classes 
or  less,  is  $2,500,  while  women  principals  of  similar  schools  receive  a  maximum  of 
$1,500.  Principals  are  promoted  from  one  class  in  the  salary  schedule  to  another  on 
conditions  similar  to  those  affecting  regular  teachers. 

In  a  small  town  the  superintendent  of  schools  may  fairly  fix  the  compensation  of 
teachers  within  the  limits  of  the  appropriation  of  the  board.  In  a  large  city  a  fixed 
schedule  of  salaries  is  essential  and  must  be  carefully  drawn  up  to  be  either  effective 
in  securing  a  good  force  or  fair  to  the  individual  teachers.  Opinions  may  differ  in 
regard  to  the  proportionate  pay  of  men  and  women  in  the  New  York  schedule,  but 
the  provisions  in  regard  to  promotion  seem  to  offer  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the 
salary  problem. 

A  good  basis  for  a  comparison  of  expenditures  for  school  purposes  in  various 
cities  might  seem  to  be  afforded  in  a  table  showing  the  per  capita  cost  of  instruction 
in  a  few  typical  cities.  The  following  table  has  been  accordingly  prepared,  and 
furnishes  some  interesting  data,  although  it  is  very  difficult  to  deduce  any  proper 
conclusions  from  them.  The  figures  are  obtained  by  dividing  the  total  expenditures 
for  current  expenses,  including  salaries  and  incidentals,  by  the  number  of  pupils 
enrolled,  by  the  average  daily  membership,  and  by  the  average  daily  attendance.  No 
wide  variation  in  the  cost  of  instruction  appears  except  in  the  case  of  St.  Louis  and 
of  Cleveland,  where  the  maximum  salaries  for  elementary  teachers  is  at  least  15 
per  cent  lower  than  in  Boston  or  Chicago.  No  fair  deduction  can  be  made  from  such 
a  table,  as  to  the  relative  economy  in  administration  in  these  cities,  since  some  of 
them  are  much  more  generous  than  others  in  the  scope  of  their  provisions  for  public 
education. 

PER   CAPITA   COST   OF   PUBLIC    EDUCATION   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES   IN   THE 
FOLLOWING   CITIES   FOR   THE    YEARS   FROM    1893   TO    1897. 

FOR  ALL  CURRENT  EXPENSES. 


Upon     number    en- 
rolled   _ 

Upon  average  daily 
membership 

Upon  average  daily 
attendance 

1893,     1894,      1895,      1896,     1897, 

CHICAGO. 

$1972  $19.26  $20.22   $20.68  $2047 

24.55       23.85       24.61       25.12       2475 

26.52       25.6O      26.40      26.95       26.4.S 

1893,       1894,        1895,       1896,       1897, 

PHILADELPHIA. 

$16.83  $l8.IO  $17.67  $18.47  $17.98 

2I.06      22.78       22.55       23.32       22.47 

24.52       24.75       25.05       26.80      24.64 

Upon    number    en- 
rolled   

Upon  average  daily 
membership 

Upon  average  daily 
attendance 

BROOKLYN. 

$17.62  $17.59  $l8-o5  $l8-30  $18.46 
23.26    23.12    23.15    23.22    23.37 
25.73    26.03    25.37    26.38    26.06 

ST.  LOUIS. 

$14.36  $14.23  $14-59  $14-75  $15-12 

18.92     18.27     18.59    18.87     I9-OS 
20.72     19.75     20.14    20.44    20.64 

190 


Upon  number  en- 
rolled   

I 'poii  average  daily 
membership 

Upon  average  daily 
attendance 


1893,   1894.   1895.   1S96,   1897- 

BOSTON. (') 

$20.55  $20.41  $20.95  $20.72  $2146 

3.63       23.32       2372       24.20       24.65 
6.69       26.23       26.72-      26.98       2778 


Upon  number  en- 
rolled   

Upon  average  daily 
membership 

Upon  average  daily 
attendance  --- 


MINNEAPOLIS. 

$20.25    $20.99  $20.49  $20.24  $20.96 

26.01        26.50       25.27       2577       25.90 

27.32       27.54       26.l6      26.66      26.80 


1893.  1894.  1895,         1896,         1897. 

CLEVELAND. 

118.94  $i8.33'$i8.5o  $18.84  $18.48 
23.84  23.32  23.42  23.30  22.43 
24.77  23.87  24.88  24.62  23.63 


$19.06  $18.29 
26.68  24.82 
29.08  26.99 


(')  The  figures  in  Boston  are  based  upon  the  day  schools  alone. 

Reference  has  been  made  in  various  parts  of  this  report  to  the  rapid  growth  of 
Chicago  and  the  consequent  difficulties  of  administration  involved  in  the  retention 
of  an  antiquated  plan  of  management.  The  following  table,  showing  the  number  of 
teachers  and  of  pupils  and  the  expenditures  for  various  purposes  during  the  last 
nine  years,  may  be,  therefore,  of  interest : 


OUTLINE    STATEMENT   OF    THE  GROWTH    OF    THE  CHICAGO   PUBLIC    SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 


89O 
89I 

892 

8u3 
894 
895 
896 

807 


2,711 
3,001 

3.300 
3.520 
3,812 
4,326 
4,668 
4.9H 
5,268 


135. Ui 
146,751 
157.743 
166,895 
185.3^8 
201,380 
213,825 
225,718 
236,239 


$1,467,663 
2,298,782 
2,555.821 
2,796,271 

3,034,255 
3,492,122 

3.843,504 
4,044.643 
4,459,222 


$70,650 
93-1 79 
85,646 
110,040 
118,578 
131,676 
1 26,800 
124,879 
141,285 


TEXT- BOOKS 

FOR    INDIGENT 

PUPILS. 


$1,959 
2,686 
2,799 
2,358 
16,108 
26,242 
1 8,007 
23.298 
38,670 


191 


appcntJfjc  b. 


PUBLIC    KINDERGARTENS. 

At  the  request  of  the  Educational  Commission,  Miss  Elizabeth  Har- 
rison, of  the  Chicago  Kindergarten  College,  kindly  submitted  the  follow- 
ing suggestions  on  the  subject  of  kindergarten  work.  The  connection  of 
the  kindergarten  with  the  public  school  is  set  forth  in  its  fundamental 
aspects  in  the  succeeding  paper  by  Professor  Edmund  J.  James,  of  the 
University  of  Chicago. 

Chicago,  October  5,  1898. 
To  the  Educational  Commission — Gentlemen: 

In  answer  to  your  recent  favor  I  would  say  that  the  best  argument  for  the  kinder- 
gartens becoming  a  part  of  the  public  school  system  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  child  is 
taken  by  the  kindergarten  at  so  early  a  period  that  his  ideas  are  not  yet  clearly  or 
definitely  molded,  and  by  the  kindergartner  through  her  knowledge  of  the  right 
training  of  the  emotional  and  its  result  upon  the  will  and  thought,  he  is  easily 
influenced  toward  the  right  lines  of  conduct,  not  only  by  the  conversation  and  stories 
of  the  kindergarten,  but  also  by  its  plays  and  games  in  whieh  he  enacts  the  part 
of  ideal  family  life,  workman  and  citizen,  thus  gaining  through  play  an  impression 
of  the  correct  relationships. 

Coming  to  the  kindergarten  so  early  as  his  fourth  or  fifth  year,  he  is  trained 
in  courtesy  of  manner  and  correct  speech  without  any  loss  of  self-respect,  or  any 
seeming  criticism  upon  his  home  life,  good  manners  and  good  speech  being  taken 
as  a  matter  of  course  in  his  new  environment,  and  as  experience  has  often  shown, 
in  many  cases  transferred  by  him  to  the  home  life;  we  have  found  that  parents  as 
a  rule  are  much  more  willing  to  take  the  innocent  corrections  and  suggestions  of 
their  little  children  than  those  of  older  ones. 

Again,  an  important  reason  for  the  spending  of  a  due  proportion  of  public  money 
upon  children  of  this  age  is,  that  habits  of  industry  and  constructive  ability  are 
formed  before  habits  of  destruction  and  idleness  can  have  become  attractive  to 
the  child. 

A  still  more  important  reason  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  are  familiar  with  the 
workings  of  the  kindergarten  is  the  impetus  which  it  gives  to  creative  and  original 
work  on  the  part  of  the  child  training  him,  as  it  does,  to  expect  to  invent  and 
create  new  forms,  new  combinations  and  new  uses  of  each  element  of  material  which 
he  possesses.     This,   if  rightly  carried   out    in   the   advanced   grades,   means,    in   my 

IQ2 


judgment,  untold  added  wealth  to  the  community  at  large  by  means  of  the  added 
creativity  and  increased  resources  of  its  citizens. 

I  need  hardly  speak  of  the  more  apparent  advantages,  such  as  habits  of  punctu- 
ality, respect,  reverence,  co-operation  and  self-control  in  which  the  child  is  thus 
early  trained  before  their  opposites  can  be  established  by  the  street,  the  alley  and 
the  saloon. 

As  to  the  second  point,  of  the  best  methods  for  establishing  kindergartens  in  the 
public  schools,  weC1)  would  by  all  means  recommend  the  system  now  being  carried 
out  by  the  board  of  education,  viz. :  That  of  receiving  as  applicants  for  positions  in 
the  public  school  kindergartens,  only  such  kindergartners  as  have  certificates  showing 
that  they  have  had  at  least  two  years  of  study  and  practice  work  in  some  thorough 
and  well  recognized  training  school ;  out  of  the  number  thus  selected  who  pass  the 
examination,  we  would  recommend  that  those  be  selected  for  positions,  first,  whose 
personality  and  general  culture  is  the  largest;  good  health  and  a  pleasant  manner 
are  also  of  great  help  in  good  kindergarten  work.  A  certain  amount  of  knowledge 
of  music,  especially  vocal  music,  is  also  an  additional  recommendation,  but  this  is 
not  an  absolute  essential  in  Chicago,  as  there  are  three  large  training  centers  here, 
and  an  instrumental  musician  can  always  be  supplied  from  among  the  volunteers  who 
are  serving  as  cadets  in  the  schools.  In  my  judgment  it  is  far  more  essential  that 
the  kindergartner  has  a  thorough  psychological  understanding  of  her  materials  and 
of  the  needs  of  her  children  than  that  she  should  be  able  to  play  for  their  marches 
and  games,  as  the  latter  can  be  supplied  by  an  assistant;  the  former  cannot. 

Such  rigid  and  exacting  requirements  would  necessarily  prevent  any  wholesale 
establishment  of  kindergartens,  but  I  most  strongly  recommend  that  all  kindergartens 
established  in  Chicago  schools  shall  be  well  established,  even  if  somewhat  slowly. 
I  should  say  some  fifteen  or  twenty  kindergartens,  perhaps  more,  might  be  thus 
manned  each  succeeding  year. 

The  present  system  of  entering  all  new  kindergartners  first  as  assistants,  and 
having  tested  them  in  this  position,  promoting  them  to  a  directorship,  as  is  now 
done  in  public  schools  of  Chicago,  is,  in  general,  the  wisest  procedure.  This,  I 
think,  would  not  necessitate  promotion  from  length  of  time  of  employment  so  much 
as  ability  shown  by  the  assistant,  as  many  kindergartners  in  one  year  can  better  show 
their  fitness  for  the  more  responsible  position  of  directorship  than  others  in  two 
or  three  years.  This,  of  course,  is  a  delicate  matter  and  would  have  to  be  left  to 
the  judgment  of  the  kindergarten  supervisor  and  the  kindergarten  committee  of 
the  board  of  education.  I  would  suggest  that  they  could  be  aided  by  a  written 
report  from  the  kindergarten  director  in  whose  kindergarten  the  candidate  for  pro- 
motion has  been  at  work. 

This  brings  me  to  your  fourth  point,  which  is,  viz.  :  The  most  economical  manner 
in  which  Chicago  kindergartens  can  be  conducted. 

In  my  judgment  the  kindergartners  in  the  city  of  Chicago  are  paid  too  large  a 
sum  in  proportion  to  the  many  capable  and  conscientious  workers  in  the  primary 
grades,  who,  from  the  nature  of  their  work,  and  the  greater  maturity  of  the  children 
they  have  in  charge,  are  required  to  give  two  hours  more  of  time  in  the  schoolroom. 
I  would  therefore  recommend  that  the  salary  of  paid  assistant  or  advanced  cadet  be 

C1)  Miss  Harrison  is  speaking  also  for  Mrs.  J.  N.  Crouse,  Joint  Principal  of  the  Chicago  Kinder- 
garten College. 

193 


placed  at  $15  or  $20  rather  than  the  salary  of  the  director  he  cut,  or  the  time  allotted 
the  children  for  attendance  upon  kindergarten  be  shortened. 

Our  reasons  for  these  suggestions  are  that  lowering  the  salary  of  the  director  of 
the  kindergarten  would,  of  necessity,  drive  many  of  our  best  and  most  experienced 
directors  to  other  cities  where  the  salaries  are  larger,  and  where  they  are  in  need 
of  such  directors.  In  the  second  place,  it  would  lessen  in  the  minds  of  the  assistant 
or  cadet   the  desirability  of  the  goal  to  be  reached  by  promotion. 

If  the  salary  of  the  director  is  kept  at  a  good  living  price,  you  will  find  that  many 
fine,  capable  women  whose  homes  are  in  Chicago,  or  who  have  means  of  partially 
maintaining  themselves,  will  be  willing  to  accept  the  position  of  assistant  or  advanced 
cadet  with  the  prospect  before  them  of  a  well  paid  directorship,  whereas  if  the  direc- 
tor's salary  is  cut  the  motive  for  entering  the  candidacy  for  a  directorship  will  be 
lessened. 

Should  the  period  given  to  kindergartens  be  cut,  the  efficiency  and  influence  of 
the  work  will  be  lessened  in  proportion,  and  the  real  benefit  to  be  derived  from  it 
much  interrupted  and  decreased. 

As  to  economy  in  material  used,  I  have  never  yet  seen  a  kindergarten  connected 
with  public  schools  where  there  did  not  seem  to  be  a  lavish  and  unnecessary  expendi- 
ture for  materials.  Our  experience  in  conducting  charity  kindergartens  has 
proved  to  us  that  after  a  kindergarten  is  once  furnished  with  its  tables,  chairs  and 
gifts,  there  need  not  be  an  expenditure  for  a  kindergarten  of  forty  or  fifty  children 
of  more  than  $3  per  month. 

Much  of  the  regulation  as  to  current  expenses  necessarily  depends  upon  the 
supervisor's  watchfulness  and  the  director's  ability  to  make  use  of  the  odds  and 
ends  of  materials. 

As  to  the  third  point  in  your  letter,  viz. :  How  the  work  of  the  kindergarten  may 
be  brought  into  closer  connection  with  that  of  the  primary  grades,  we  would  suggest 
that  twice  per  month  the  kindergarten  and  primary  teachers  of  the  city  meet  together ; 
on  the  first  occasion  a  committee  of  kindergartners  be  appointed  by  their  supervisor 
or  the  board  to  explain  the  kindergarten  principles  and  methods.  At  the  second 
meeting  the  primary  grade  teachers  be  given  the  floor  and  their  methods  explained. 

So  far  as  my  personal  experience  goes  I  have  never  known  a  wide-awake,  efficient 
kindergartner  to  be  connected  with  a  public  school  where  she  did  not  interest  the 
primary  grade  teachers  next  to  her,  and  be  of  much  assistance  to  them  in  helping 
them  to  select  the  best  stories  and  songs  for  their  children,  together  with  the  sugges- 
tion of  some  plays  and  games-  and  physical  exercises  which  could  without  injury  be 
transferred  from  the  kindergarten  to  the  primary  relaxation.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  best  primary  grade  teachers  of  our  city  have  been  of  much  help  to  kindergartners 
in  suggesting  to  them  more  definite  language  exercises  for  the  children,  and  such 
points  of  nature  study  as  will  prepare  the  children  for  their  prescribed  course  in 
the  primary  grade. 

The  highest  compliment  I  have  ever  heard  paid  by  a  primary  teacher  to  a  kinder- 
gartner has  come  to  me  many  times  in  the  remark:  "The  kindergarten  children 
seem  to  expect  to  be  on  friendly  relations  with  us  at  once." 

In  many  cases  where  the  child  comes  from  the  home  extreme  reserve  and  often- 
times opposition  has  first  to  he  overcome. 

We  do  not  think  it  advantageous  to  introduce  many  of  the  kindergarten  "gifts" 

194 


and  "occupations"  into  the  primary  grades,  as  most  of  them  are  intended  for  and 
adapted  to  the  use  of  children  under  six  years  of  age.  This  mistake  has  been  made 
by  many  primary  teachers  in  the  past.  There  is  some  of  the  material,  however, 
which,  if  rightly  understood,  could  be  advantageously  used. 

We  would  also  suggest  that  all  earnest  and  inquiring  primary  grade  teachers 
should  read  Froebel's  "Education  of  Man.''  and  from  it  add  to  4heir  own  high 
enthusiasm  concerning  the  calling  of  a  teacher. 

Thanking  you  for  the  courtesy  which  allows  this  communication,  I  remain, 
Cordially  and  sincerely  yours, 

Elizabeth  Harrison. 

the  kindergarten  and  the  public  school.  (!) 

In  order  to  set  forth  clearly  and  satisfactorily  the  thoughts  which  underlie  this 
paper,  it  seems  necessary  to  preface  the  argument  with  a  brief  consideration  of  the 
basis  and  province  of  the  kindergarten. 

The  average  child  in  our  society  comes  in  conscious  contact  during  the  first  six 
to  ten  years  of  his  life  with  four  great  institutions — the  family,  the  school,  the  church, 
and  the  state.  They  all  share  in  educating  him,  both  directly  and  indirectly,  for  life 
in  human  society.  The  particular  share  which  each  of  these  institutions  takes  in 
the  education  of  the  child  is  a  varying  one,  changing  with  time,  place,  and  circum- 
stance. As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  has  been  determined  thus  far  in  human  history,  to  a 
large  extent,  unconsciously — oftentimes  seemingly  by  accident.  To  a  certain  extent, 
indeed,  this  is  true,  not  only  of  the  distribution  of  the  work  of  education,  but  also  of 
all  national  effort  in  behalf  of  education  itself.  But  with  every  step  in  human  civiliza- 
tion we  have  come  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  time  when  public  attention  shall  be  more 
and  more  concentrated  on  what  is  beyond  all  doubt  the  most  important  question  in 
any  given  generation,  viz.,  that  of  the  education  of  the  next,  and  the  time  when  the 
conviction  shall  be  forced  home  upon  the  public  consciousness  with  an  absolutely 
irresistible  force  that  all  that  has  been  done  in  education  is  but  the  merest  beginning, 
and  that  we  must  open  our  minds  and  hearts  and  purses  in  earnest  in  the 'support  of 
this  cause  if  we  would  look  forward  to  the  future  of  our  race  with  reasonable  hope 
and  complacency.  There  are,  fortunately  for  us,  many  signs  of  a  deep  and  general 
awakening  on  this  important  subject,  not  only  in  our  own  midst  but  across  the  seas 
both  east  and  west,  in  Asia  as  well  as  in  Europe.  Within  the  last  fifteen  years  a 
system  of  popular  schools,  looking  towards  bringing  the  opportunities  for  a  school 
education  within  the  reach  of  every  child  in  the  community,  has  finally  been  estab- 
lished in  the  southern  half  of  our  own  country,  in  England,  in  France,  in  Italy,  and 
in  other  European  countries,  and  in  Japan  and  India.  Those  who,  twenty  years 
ago,  would  have  prophesied  that  these  things  would  come  to  pass  within  this  century, 
would  have  been  derided  and  ridiculed  as  little  short  of  lunatics.  Who  would  dare 
prophesy  what  the  next  fifteen  years  will  accomplish  in  this  direction? 

Every  advance  on  the  formal  side  of  education,  ending  in  the  establishment  of 
new  institutions,  has  been  accompanied  by  a  no  less  marked,  though  not  so  easily 
discernible,  advance  on,  what,  for  lack  of  a  better  term,  I  may  call  the  ideal  side. 
That  is  to  say.  the  public  consciousness  is  becoming  more  and  more  sensible  of  the 
fact  that  we  need  a  more  thoughtful,  careful,  persistent  study  of  the  nature  of  educa- 

(')  An  address  by  Edmund  J.  James,  University  of  Chicago. 

195 


tion  itself,  and  of  the  further  fact,  that  we  may  determine,  to  a  very  large  extent, 
what  particular  share  of  this  educational  work  we  shall  assign  to  the  various  institu- 
tions mentioned  above.  In  other  words,  we  have  already  begun  consciously  to  dis- 
tribute the  work  of  educating  the  child  and  to  look  to  these  various  institutions  for 
certain  definite  contributions  to  this  all  important  end.  It  cannot  have  escaped  the 
attention  of  even  the  most  careless  observers  in  this  field,  that  the  present  tendency 
in  human  society  is  toward  assigning  a  continually  increasing  sphere  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  child  to  public  institutions.  It  has  not  been  so  very  long— many  of  you 
can  remember  the  time— when  the  education  of  the  average  child  in  this  community 
was  left  entirely  to  the  family,  the  street,  and  the  church,  with  precious  little  of  the 
latter.  We  now  offer  to  the  majority  of  our  children  the  opportunity  of  free  school- 
ing for  about  eight  years  of  their  life,  and  to  a  small  number  the  addition  of  four 
years  more.  In  other  words,  we  leave,  at  present,  the  education  of  the  child  until 
his  sixth  year  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  family.  We  then  offer  to  the  family  the 
opportunity  of  calling  in  the  assistance  of  the  school  in  the  education  of  its  younger 
members  for  the  next  eight  years  of  their  lives. 

One  of  the  great  questions  now  before  the  educational  world  is  this:  Can  the 
family  properly  look  out  for  the  education  of  the  child  until  its  sixth  year,  and.  if 
it  can,  does  it  actually  do  so,  or  can  we  insure  its  doing  so?  It  is  this  question  then 
to  which  I  first  ask  your  attention. 

We  all  agree,  I  think,  and  at  least  the  society  in  which  we  live  is  agreed,  that  the 
family  cannot  or  at  least  will  not  properly  look  out  for  the  education  of  its  children 
after  the  sixth  year.  Now  what  is  the  basis  of  this  conclusion?  As  I  look  at  it,  it 
is  simply  this :  There  is  a  certain  minimum  of  knowledge  and  training,  both  mental 
and  moral,  which,  for  the  safety  and  welfare  of  society,  it  is  necessary  should  be 
realized  in  the  great  majority  of  its  members.  This  knowledge  and  training— educa- 
tion we  may  call  it — can  be  best  acquired  in  the  years  from  five  or  six  to  fourteen  or 
fifteen.  If  the  opportunity  for  obtaining  this  minimum  is  not  placed  within  the  reach 
of  the  mass  of  our  children  at  a  small  expense  within  those  years,  it  will  not  be  sought 
either  by  the  children  themselves  or  by  their  parents  for  them. 

If  this  be  a  correct  statement  of  the  case,  it  is  evident  that  our  present  arrange- 
ment is  justifiable  only  on  condition  that  the  completion  of  the  fifth  year  marks  the 
period  at  which  the  public  education  of  the  child,  as  distinguished  from  the  family 
education,  may  best  begin.  Whether  this  be  so  or  not  is  one  of  the  most  vexed 
questions  of  pedagogical  theory,  and  I  shall  not  attempt  more  than  to  indicate  briefly 
my  views  on  the  subject  and  give  my  reasons  for  holding  them.  We  must  first  state 
the  case  clearly,  and  we  shall  find,  I  think,  that  such  a  statement  will  contribute  very 
much  toward  our  arriving  at  substantial  agreement  on  the  most  important  of  the 
points  at  issue. 

When  one  speaks  of  public  education,  most  people  think  of  the  education  which 
is  given  by  our  schools  as  at  present  constituted.  This  is  the  source  of  the  first 
difference  in  opinion  which  clearly  arises  from  a  misunderstanding.  We  may  grant 
that  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  year  is  the  proper  time  for  the  child  to  enter  school, 
as  that  institution  is  at  present  organized,  and  to  take  up  the  routine  of  school  duties, 
and  yet  maintain  that  the  public  education  of  the  child  should  begin  at  a  much  earlier 
age.  All  that  is  necessary  to  reconcile  these  two  positions  is  to  insist  on  the  necessity 
of  a  different  institution,  which  shall  look  after  the  education  of  the  child  prior  to 

196 


its  entering  school.  This  is  practically  the  position  of  a  large  and  growing  body  of 
theoretical  and  practical  educationalists,  and  I  fully  accept  their  opinion  in  this 
respect. 

Whether  five,  six,  or  seven  is  the  proper  age  to  begin  school-work  is  not  by  any 
means  a  well-settled  point,  but  we  may  take  it  for  granted,  I  think,  that  the  time 
will  fall  within  those  limits.  Suppose  we  accept  as  the  proper  age  that  which  is 
generally  taken  as  the  beginning  of  the  so-called  legal  school  age,  viz.,  the  close  of 
the  fifth  year.  For  the  sake  of  argument,  then,  we  may  grant  that  children  should 
not  attend  school  before  the  age  of  six  years.  On  the  other  hand,  we  maintain  that 
the  public  education  of  the  child  should  begin  much  sooner,  meaning  by  public  educa- 
tion simply  a  systematic  training  outside  of  the  family  and  in  company  with  other 
children,  with  a  view  to  developing  and  training  the  powers  of  the  child-mind.  This 
can  be  best  accomplished  in  a  special  institution  organized  for  this  particular  purpose 
—an  institution  which  shall  bridge  over  the  chasm  between  the  nursery  and  the 
school.  Such  an  institution  the  kindergarten  claims  to  be.  There  are,  therefore, 
two  points  to  be  considered :  First,  the  reason  for  such  an  institution ;  second,  the 
extent  to  which  tne  kindergarten  satisfies  the  demand. 

In  discussing  the  reason  for,  and  the  necessity  of,  such  an  institution,  I  shall 
appeal  to  two  classes  of  facts:  (i)  Those  of  physiology  and  psychology,  and  (2) 
those  of  the  daily  life  of  children,  which  are  patent  to  us  all.  Professor  Bain,  in 
his  "Education  as  a  Science,"  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  "The  brain  grows  with 
great  rapidity  up  to  seven  years  of  age;  it  then  attains  an  average  weight  of  forty 
ounces  in  the  male.  The  increase  is  much  slower  between  seven  and  fourteen,  when 
it  attains  forty-five  ounces;  still  slower  from  fourteen  to  twenty,  when  it  is  very 
near  its  greatest  size.  It  would  seem  pretty  clear  that  there  is  some  connection  be- 
tween intellectual  power  and  brain-growth.  Consequently,  of  the  more  difficult 
intellectual  exercises,  some  that  would  be  impossible  at  five  or  six  are  easy  at  eight 
through  the  fact  of  brain-growth  alone.  This  is  consistent  with  all  our  experience, 
and  is  of  value  as  confirming  that  experience.  It  often  happens  that  you  try  a  pupil 
with  a  peculiar  subject  at  a  certain  age  and  you  entirely  fail;  wait  a  year  or  two 
and  you  will  succeed,  and  that  without  seemingly  having  done  anything  expressly  to 
lead  up  to  that  point,  although  there  will  inevitably  be  within  that  period  some  sort  of 
experience  that  helps  to  pave  the  way.  In  regard  to  the  symbolical  and  abstract 
subjects,  such  as  arithmetic,  algebra,  geometry,  and  grammar,  I  think  the  observation 
holds.     A  difference  of  two  or  three  years  will  do  everything  for  those  subjects. 

This,  however,  is  but  one  aspect,  although  a  very  important  one  of  the  varying 
rate  of  brain-growth.  If  we  follow  the  analogy  of  the  muscular  system,  we  shall 
conclude  that  the  times  of  rapid  growth  are  times  of  more  special  susceptibility  to 
the  bents  imparted  at  those  times.  If  the  brain  is  still  unable  to  grapple  with  the 
higher  elements,  it  is  making  or  may  make  great  progress  with  the  lower ;  whatever 
it  can  take  hold  of  it  can  fix  and  engrain  with  an  intensity  proportionate  to  its  rate  of 
growth. 

These  two  facts  indicate  the  Scylla  and  Charybis  between  which  the  educationist 
and  the  educational  system  must  steer  with  great  care.  On  the  one  hand,  we  must 
be  careful  not  to  introduce  any  elements  into  the  education  of  the  child  which  are 
out  of  the  reach  of  its  intellectual  effort,  as  that  might  dwarf  and  stunt  or  even 
destroy  its  growing  powers.     On  the  other,  we  must  be  sure  to  introduce  them  just 

197 


as  rapidly  as  the  mind  grows  up  to  them  or  we  shall  fail  to  make  the  desired  im- 
pression at  the  right  time.  If  we  begin  too  early  we  may  interfere  with  the  powers 
needed  for  growth,  or,  if  it  should  not  be  quite  so  bad  as  this,  it  will  take  a  much 
greater  expenditure  of  nervous  force  than  would  be  necessary  at  a  later  stage.  We 
begin  too  late  if  we  allow  time  to  pass  by  when  good  and  useful  impressions  could  be 
made  with  perfect  safety  to  the  physical  and  mental  health. 

This  point  is  so  exceedingly  important  that  I  may  be  pardoned  if  I  repeat  it  in 
a  little  different  form.  In  the  physical  growth  of  the  child  it  passes  through  a  series 
of  stages,  at  each  of  which  the  wants  of  the  body  call  for  a  different  diet.  If  you 
attempt  to  feed  the  young  infant  on  bread  and  meat,  you  will,  in  all  probability, 
destroy  the  organism.  If  you  fail  to  incorporate  the  proper  elements  in  its  diet,  the 
result  will  be  seen  in  impaired  nutrition  and  backward  development.  It  is  just  as 
fatal  to  healthy  growth  to  fail  to  add  the  new  elements  as  they  are  needed  as  it  is  to 
introduce  them  prematurely.  There  is  a  succession  of  tides  in  the  physical  develop- 
ment of  the  child  which  must  be  taken  at  their  flood  if  we  are  to  hope  for  the  best 
results.  It  is  just  so  in  his  mental  development.  When  the  time  comes  for  a  given 
impression,  and  the  time  goes  by  without  it  being  made,  it  is  a  lost  opportunity — 
gone  never  to  return.  At  the  very  least,  it  means  that  the  impression,  if  it  ever  be 
gained,  will  be  acquired  at  an  increased  cost,  while  it  may,  also,  and  often  does, 
mean  that  it  will  never  be  acquired  at  all.  I  cannot  help  believing  that  the  old  educa- 
tion erred  not  only  in  the  direction  of  introducing  subjects  to  the  child  prematurely, 
but  also,  and  quite  as  seriously,  in  the  opposite  direction  of  failing  to  introduce 
much  to  the  child  in  its  earlier  years  which  it  should  have  introduced;  and  to-day 
we  are,  I  think,  much  nearer  correcting  the  sin  of  commission  than  the  equally 
serious  one  of  omission. 

We  have  not  as  yet  obtained  a  satisfactory  estimate  of  the  relative  educational 
values  of  the  different  years  of  childhood.  But  nearly  all  observers  and  students 
of  the  subject,  nearly  all  psychologists  and  thoughtful  teachers,  agree  that  for 
certain  classes  of  impressions  the  first  six  or  seven  years  of  the  child  are  worth 
all  the  rest  put  together.  Why  do  we  find  so  many  dull  children  in  our  families, 
in  the  street,  and  in  the  school?  I  believe  that  we  shall  come  to  see  more  and 
more  with  the  lapse  of  time  that  our  education  or  lack  of  education  is  responsible 
for  very  much  of  this  dullness.  The  crisis  in  the  child's  life  came  and  passed 
unnoticed.  No  thoughtful  helper  was  at  hand  to  offer  just  the  food  which  his 
mental  stomach  craved,  and  when  the  food  came  the  time  for  it  was  long  past—* 
the  child  had  been  practically  condemned  to  become  a  dwarfed  and  stunted  mem- 
ber of  society.     So  much  for  what  I  should  call  the  physiological  argument. 

It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to  go  to  physiology  or  psychology  for  a  very 
striking  and,  to  my  mind,  conclusive  proof  that  the  period  between  the  nursery 
and  the  school  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all  for  conveying  and  deepening 
impressions.  How  many  of  us  have  seen,  either  in  our  own  children  or  those  of 
others,  or  both,  most  striking  evidences  of  an  all  pervading  and  never  resting 
curiosity?  The  child  wishes  to  know  everything  and  asks  endless  questions  about 
things  above  and  beneath  the  earth.  Now  this  insatiable  curiosity,  which  is  in 
the  child  only  a  reflection  of  the  same  quality  in  the  race.  may.  under  proper 
guidance,  become  the  most  powerful  of  educational  instruments.  But  how  often. 
pray,    is    it   under   such   guidance?      It   is   the   rule   that   this    most   valuable   of   all 

198 


mental  attitudes  is  gradually  worn  away  by  the  conduct  of  mothers,  of  fathers, 
of  sisters,  of  brothers,  and  friends.  "Go  away;  don't  bother  me,  you  little  fool, 
with  your  eternal  questions;  you  are  enough  to  try  the  patience  of  a  saint" — is. 
perhaps,  the  most  common  form  of  putting  a  quietus  on  the  questioning  spirit.  It 
takes  a  long  while,  sometimes,  even  with  such  vigorous  treatment,  to  kill  out  or 
beat  down  this  desire  and  practice  of  questioning  everything.  But  it  has  gener- 
ally so  far  succeeded  by  the  time  the  child  starts  to  school  that  the  teacher  must 
begin  her  work  by  trying  to  revive  this  passion  in  the  child  by  her  cunning  devices. 
It  cannot  be  expected  that  the  average  parent,  or  even  the  average  servant  girl, 
to  whom  our  wealthy  people  leave  their  precious  charges  most  of  the  time,  can 
be  prepared,  I  will  not  say  to  answer  all  these  questions,  for  that  not  even  Solomon 
with  all  his  wisdom  could  do,  but  to  take  advantage  of  these  questions  to  direct 
and  train  the  child's  attention  along  lines  from  which  it  can  hope  to  derive  profit. 
Nobody  can  do  this  in  a  satisfactory  manner  but  one  who  has  made  the  study 
of  child-life  and  the  mind  the  serious  occupation  of  his  life.  And  when  we  think 
of  the  glorious  opportunities  which  are  all  the  while  being  lost  to  our  children 
for  the  lack  of  just  such  people  in  charge  of  them,  it  makes  the  heart  sick  on 
account  of  hope  deferred ;  for  how  can  we  hope  to  see  society  move  on  at  any 
reasonable  rate  of  speed  so  long  as  we  allow  these  invaluable  powers  to  go  to  waste 
in  the  present  wholesale  manner. 

But  there  is  still  another  reason  why  there  is  great  need  of  an  intermediate  in- 
stitution between  the  nursery  and  the  school,  and  that  is  the  great  desire  on  the 
part  of  children,  who  have  grown  old  enough  to  run  out  of  the  nursery,  for  the 
companionship  of  their  fellow  children.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  enlarge  upon 
this  thought.  It  is  a  fact  patent  to  all.  Nor  is  this  a  desire  which  it  is  safe  not  to 
gratify.  Since  our  children  must  live  in  the  society  of  their  fellow-men,  they 
cannot  begin  too  soon  that  education  which  comes  from  well-ordered  intercourse 
with  their  equals.  The  moral  education  of  the  child  does  not,  practically  cannot, 
begin  until  he  comes  in  contact  with  other  children  of  equal  age,  and  tries  to  live 
with  them  and  enter  into  their  lives  and  let  them  enter  into  his.  This  element 
cannot  be  found  within  the  family.  It  must  be  sought  without.  The  question 
then  comes,  where  is  it  to  be  found?  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  generally  sought  in 
the  street — oftentimes  without  any  supervision,  generally  with  no  better  supervision 
than  that  which  an  elder  brother  or  sister  or  a  servant  girl  can  give.  It  would  not 
seem  to  need  much  argument  to  prove,  that  the  education  of  the  child  in  all  that 
relates  to  his  duties  to  his  fellow-men  can  be  best  begun  by  such  intercourse  with 
his  fellows  under  the  care  of  one  who  has  made  it  his  business  to  teach  and  train 
such  children. 

If  these  considerations  be  just,  it  must  follow  that  there  is  great  need  for 
some  kind  of  an  educational  institution  which  shall  begin  with  the  child  as  soon 
as  he  leaves  the  nursery  and  take  him  along  in  the  years  which  elapse  until  his 
mental  maturity  is  such  that  he  is  fit  to  enter  the  school  and  take  up  its  systematic 
and  long  continued  labors.  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  the  family  can  and  will  do 
this.  The  average  mother  has  no  time  to  look  after  the  intellectual  and  moral 
development  of  her  child  in  the  proper  way.  Even  if  she  had  the  time  she  is 
utterly  unfit  by  education  and  training  to  undertake  any  such  thing,  and  if  she 
attempted  it  she  would  likely  do  more  harm  than  good.     Moreover,  the  very  best 

199 


mother  cannot  by  any  possibility  be  to  her  little  child  what  his  playmates  are. 
She  cannot  take  their  place  as  companions  for  him,  and  wherever  it  is  attempted 
the  results  are  disastrous  in  the  extreme.  The  more  confident  a  mother  is  that 
she  can  do  this  the  more  striking  the  proof  of  her  utter  unfitness  for  the  work.  Such 
an  institution  then  is  a  necessity,  not  only  for  the  poor  child  whose  out-door  life 
must  be  spent  in  the  street,  but  just  as  necessary  for  the  child  of  parents  of  wealth 
and  leisure.  It  is,  in  other  words,  a  permanent  category  in  educational  life,  and 
should  form  an  integral  part  of  every  educational  system. 

Now  the  kindergarten  claims  to  be  just  such  an  institution,  and  I  believe  that, 
in  its  best  specimens,  it  fairly  justifies  the  claim.  I  am  aware  that  there  is  much 
nonsense  talked  upon  this  subject.  Some  of  its  most  enthusiastic  votaries,  who 
are  at  the  same  time  its  worst  enemies,  talk  as  if  it  were  now  a  perfect  institution — 
a  very  absurd  claim,  of  course,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  so  much  is  still  unknown 
about  the  limits  and  sequence  of  the  development  of  the  human  faculties.  After 
making  due  allowance,  however,  for  all  the  curious  vagaries  of  the  friends  of  the 
kindergarten,  it  must  still  be  admitted  that  there  is  a  valuable  residuum  left  which  is 
worth  our  serious  attention.  It  is,  at  any  rate,  the  only  thing  we  have.  At  its 
best  it  is  very  good,  and  at  its  worst  is  capable  of  improvement,  while,  as  a  rule, 
it  is  vastly  better  than  nothing. 

It  now  remains  to  discuss  the  relation  of  the  kindergarten  to  our  public  educa- 
tional system.  If  you  have  followed  me  thus  far  you  will  have  no  difficulty  in  infer- 
ring my  conclusion  that  the  kindergarten  should  be  made  an  integral  part  of  our 
system  of  public  education.  If  it  supplies  an  imperative  want  of  society,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  want  which  private  enterprise  will  not  supply,  there  remains  only  one 
thing  to  do,  and  that  is  for  society  to  assume  the  burden  of  its  support.  That  pri- 
vate enterprise  will  not  supply  it  adequately,  I  think,  is  perfectly  plain  from  the  whole 
history  of  education.  In  no  free  country,  at  no  time  and  under  no  circumstances, 
have  large  educational  institutions  of  a  high  rank  been  supported  entirely  at  private 
expense.  It  was  formerly  the  argument  against  free  schools,  that  if  there  were 
any  real  demand  for  education  it  would  be  met  by  the  establishment  of  new 
schools,  and  as  for  those  people  who  would  not  or  could  not  pay  tuition — why,  they 
would  not  send  their  children  anyhow,  since  people  valued  only  that  for  which  they 
paid  something.  Adam  Smith  said  a  century  ago,  that  "an  elementary  school  system 
could  be  supported  from  fees  alone."  There  is  no  doubt  about  that,  I  suppose.  The 
whole  question  is,  whether  such  a  free-school  system  would  be  worth  anything  or 
not.  It  is  certain  that  no  system  of  schools  which  is  expected  to  reach  the  great 
majority  of  our  children  could  at  the  present  day  be  supported  by  fees  alone,  and 
so  convinced  have  we  become  that  popular  education  in  the  widest  sense  is  impossible, 
except  on  the  basis  of  free  schools,  that  we  have  now  formally  adopted  that 
system  in  every  state  in  the  Union.  So  successful  has  it  been,  that  it  is  only  a 
question  of  time,  and  that  not  a  very  long  time  either,  when  the  leading  European 
nations  will  follow  our  example. 

The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  kindergarten  as  of  our  schools.  Its  advantages  will 
never  be  open  to  the  masses  of  the  people  until  it  has  been  incorporated  into  our 
public  school  system  and  thrown  open  free  of  charge  to  all  children  in  the  com- 
munity. The  drift  of  events  is  steadily  toward  this  consummation,  and  all  the. 
signs  of  the  times  indicate  its  steady,  though  at  times   slow,   approach. 


This  policy  is  to  be  justified,  in  my  opinion,  on  the  same  grounds  exactly  as 
those  which  have  been  urged  with  so  much  success  in  favor  of  the  free  public  school. 
It  is  necessary  to  secure  a  certain  minimum  of  education  in  the  great  mass  of  the 
people — a  minimum,  too,  which,  fortunately,  is  continually  rising.  We  cannot  hope 
to  get  this  minimum  if  we  allow  the  three  years  of  most  favorable  opportunity  to 
go  to  waste  as  we  are  now  doing.  What  would  be  the  objection  to  putting  the 
school  age  from  ten  to  eighteen,  instead  of  from  six  to  fourteen  as  at  present? 
There  would  be  two  very  serious  objections:  (i)  four  of  the  most  valuable  years 
of  the  child  would  go  to  waste,  making  it  simply  impossible  to  achieve  any  valuable 
results;  (2)  not  more  than  one  child  would  go  from  fourteen  to  eighteen  where 
twenty  go  from  six  to  ten.  Even  as  it  is  now,  the  great  majority  of  our  children 
do  not  go  after  they  become  ten  or  twelve  years  of  age,  so  that  the  practical  school 
age,  under  present  circumstances,  does  not  include  more  than  four  or  five  years  for 
most  of  the  children.  The  decrease  in  the  number  of  children,  as  one  goes  up 
in  the  school  grades,  is  one  of  the  most  lamentable  facts  of  our  educational  system. 
Now  it  may  be  possible  to  prevent  this  to  some  extent  by  changing  the  character 
of  the  schools  in  the  direction  of  greater  practicalness,  such  as  would  be  secured  by 
the  general  introduction  of  industrial  training  and  similar  improvements;  but  the 
real  cause  of  most  of  this  decrease,  particularly  in  the  upper  grades,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  that  the  children  at  ten  or  twelve  can  begin  to  earn  something,  and  as  soon 
as  they  can  they  must.  This  cause  is  likely  to  be  an  enduring  one,  and  we  cannot 
probably  remove  it  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

The  case  lies  then  as  follows:  Three  years  from  the  nursery  to  the  school 
wasted,  or  worse  than  wasted,  for  educational  purposes ;  four  or  five  years  spent  in 
the  school— a  period  which  is  utterly  inadequate  to  acquire  the  desired  degree  of 
education,  and  no  great  hope  of  extending  this  period  for  some  time  to  come.  What 
shall  be  done?  It  seems  to  me  the  answer  is  clear:  utilize  those  three  years  which 
now  go  to  waste,  and  during  which  you  can  get  hold  of  the  children  and  thus 
make  up  as  far  as  possible  for  the  years  which  you  cannot  get  from  ten  or  twelve 
to  thirteen  or  fifteen.  Do  not  misunderstand  me.  I  do  not  wish  to  shorten  the 
school  age  at  all,  rather  lengthen  it,  so  that  as  long  as  there  is  a  child,  youth,  or 
adult  in  the  community  without  an  education  he  shall  have  the  opportunity  to  avail 
himself  of  such  advantages  as  are  offered.  But  by  all  means  utilize  these  three 
years  by  which  you  may  lengthen  the  actual  period  of  education  to  the  average 
child  from  four  to  seven  years,  because  in  this  way  you  can  attain  the  best  educa- 
tional results.  The  free  public  kindergarten  may  be  justified  then  on  the  ground 
that  it  is  the  best  if  not  the  only  means  of  attaining  the  object  of  all  public  educational 
systems,  viz.,  popular  education.  It  is  the  usual  testimony  of  thoughtful  teachers, 
that  children  who  have  had  three  years  in  a  good  kindergarten  can  make  much 
more  rapid  progress  in  their  regular  school  work  than  those  who  have  lead  the 
hap-hazard  sort  of  life  which  generally  falls  to  the  lot  of  children  in  that  period, 
and  whether  this  be  so  or  not,  no  one  who  has  studied  the  subject,  can  doubt  that 
the  life  of  the  kindergarten  pupil  is  fuller  and  richer  by  far  than  it  would  have  been 
without  this  training. 

I  am  fully  aware  that  this  step  means  a  very  large  increase  of  our  appropriations 
for  school  purposes,  but  I  believe  that  it  will  richly  repav  us  for  all  our  outlay. 

The  most  striking  fact  in  our  modern  financial  budgets— local,  state,  and  general. 


in  this  country  and  in  Europe — is  the  rapid  increase  in  the  expenditures  for  school 
purposes.  It  has  already  become  the  largest  single  item  in  our  local  and  state 
budgets,  and  all  the  indications  point  to  its  early  incorporation  in  our  national  budget, 
for,  if  the  Blair  bill  passes,  or  any  similar  one,  the  Federal  government  will  begin 
a  policy  which,  in  my  opinion,  will  not  be  stopped,  of  making  large  annual  grants 
to  the  cause  of  education.  This  large  expenditure,  in  spite  of  mismanagement  and 
misapplication,  has  proved,  as  a  whole,  very  profitable  to  the  communities  which 
have  made  it,  and  I  believe  that  we  are  just  making  a  fair  beginning  in  this  direction. 
We  shall  make  heavier  and  heavier  outlays  for  this  purpose. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  believe  that  such  outlays,  viewed  merely  as  investments 
of  so  much  capital  on  the  part  of  society,  will  make  the  largest  kind  of  returns. 

The  educational  policy  of  a  country  should  be  directed  toward  developing  ail  its 
intellectual  wealth,  just  as  its  economic  policy  should  look  toward  developing  its 
material  wealth.  Our  present  educational  system,  both  in  its  lower  and  higher 
members,  is  as  incomplete  and  unsatisfactory  when  viewed  from  this  aspect  as 
would  be  our  economic  policy  if,  instead  of  encouraging  by  our  laws  the  rise  of  many 
or  all  kinds  of  industry,  we  should  direct  all  our  efforts  toward  utilizing  our  coal 
deposits  alone.  It  has  not  been  so  very  long,  for  example,  since  the  only  kind  of 
higher  institution  in  this  country  was  the  old-fashioned  college  with  its  ironcast 
course  of  Latin,  Greek  and  Mathematics.  The  only  kind  of  talent  which  we,  as 
a  country,  were  utilizing  was  that  very  scarce  fraction  which  could  be  developed 
by  an  exclusively  literary  training.  Even  in  the  common  school  "readin,  ritin,  and 
rithmetic"  formed  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  all  "larnin."  Those  to  whom  the 
most  mechanical  presentation  of  these  subjects  did  not  appeal  were  voted  hopelessly 
dull,  and  forthwith  shut  out  from  all  so-called  higher  education.  One  hundred  and 
twenty-five  years  ago  the  only  so-called  higher  institution  of  learning  in  the  country 
was  the  college,  the  only  secondary  institution  the  academy,  and  the  only  primary 
school  the  old-fashioned  a-b-c  and  parsing  machine.  There  was  no  medical,  dental, 
law,  veterinary  or  technical  school  of  any  kind,  no  normal  school,  no  industrial  school, 
no  school  of  art  or  design,  no  business  college — nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  but  the 
college  and  the  theological  seminary.  Every  step  of  our  educational  advance  has 
been  marked  by  the  establishment  of  some  new  kind  of  school  or  the  expansion  of 
some  old  one,  in  such  a  way  as  to  amount  to  the  same  thing.  The  rise  of  these  new 
institutions  has  been  accompanied  by  an  enormous  increase  in  the  material  and 
intellectual  resources  of  the  race.  It  is  fair  to  claim  that  the  enormously  rapid 
growth  of  modern  communities  in  all  that  distinguishes  civilization  from  barbarism, 
as  compared  with  ancient  communities,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  we  are  at  last  begin- 
ning to  utilize  for  the  first  time  in  human  history  some  small  part  of  the  intellectual 
power  of  the  race.  Just  consider  for  a  moment.  The  ancient  Greek  had  no  place  in 
his  society  for  the  student  of  natural  science — no  place  for  a  Galileo,  or  Newton,  or 
Huxley,  or  Helmholtz,  or  Harvey,  or  Pasteur,  or  Stephenson,  or  Wait,  or  Whitney, 
or  Edison — no  means  of  calling  them  forth,  no  means  of  encouraging  them  if  they 
had  been  at  hand,  or  rather  a  most  efficient  means  which  he  was  not  slow  to  use  of 
forcing  them  down  and  eliminating  them  from  society.  Even  such  a  man  as  Socrates 
thought  that  people  who  busied  themselves  about  such  things  were  worse  than  use- 
less, and  at  least  should  be  the  slaves  of  the  rest.  That  was  twenty-two  centuries 
ago,  and  yet  it  has  only  been  within  the  memory  of  some  of  the  youngest  of  us  that 


■even  the  most  advanced  of  our  American  colleges  have  finally  opened  a  place  for 
such  men  within  their  sacred  walls.  The  whole  history  of  human  education,  nay. 
of  human  civilization  itself,  is  but  the  history  of  a  long  series  of  melancholy  attempt-, 
to  limit  in  every  possible  way  the  development  of  new  talent  and  ability.  It  is  only 
within  this  century,  and  indeed  almost  within  this  generation,  that  we  are  finally 
coming  to  see  that  there  is  an  infinite  variety  of  human  talent  and  taste,  and  an 
infinite  variety  of  possible  science,  and  that  we  can  expect  to  utilize  the  former  fully 
for  our  benefit  only  when  the  latter  is  made  as  accessible  as  possible  to  all  alike. 
This  means,  of  course,  the  establishment  and  development  of  new  kinds  of  schools, 
which  shall  bring  home  to  each  type  of  mind  in  our  society  the  opportunity  of  finding 
that  for  which  it  is  specially  and  peculiarly  suited,  and  this  in  spite  of  much  opposi- 
tion from  some  quarters,  and  all  too  slowly  in  most  places,  we  are  finally  making 
up  our  minds  to  do,  and  have,  indeed,  already  made  a  fair  beginning  in  that  direction. 

This  work  is  important,  and  must  and  will  go  on.  But  there  is  another  aspect  to 
the  question  which  specially  interests  us  in  this  connection.  All  these  institutions 
are  for  the  advanced  child— the  child  whose  tastes  are  already  to  some  extent 
formed  or  destroyed — the  range  of  whose  senses  has  already  been  to  a  great 
extent  circumscribed.  If  we  would  be  consistent,  if  we  would  attain  the  most  valu- 
able results,  we  must  go  back  of  this  point  in  our  educational  processes,  we  must 
get  at  the  child  during  the  period  of  most  rapid  growth ;  we  must  seek  an  opportunity 
to  call  forth  and  train  in  the  right  way  all  its  mental  powers,  to  evoke,  if  possible, 
all  the  varieties  of  its  activity  at  the  very  time  when  this  can  be  done  to  the  most 
advantage.  It  is  only  in  this  way  that  we  can  hope  to  awaken  and  keep  alive  all 
the  possibilities  of  the  future  man ;  only  in  this  way  that  we  can  hope  to  develop 
and  utilize  all  the  mental  wealth  of  our  society. 

The  kindergarten,  or  some  institution  of  that  kind,  can  do  this  very  work.  It 
can  take  the  child  at  the  earliest  practicable  age ;  can  train  its  eye  to  see,  its  ear  to 
hear,  its  tongue  to  speak,  its  hands  to  do.  Can  call  forth  and  train  its  sense  for 
beauty,  for  color,  for  rhythm,  for  order,  both  in  the  material  and  moral  world.  Can 
develop  its  sense  of  duty  and  justice,  thus  helping  it  into  right  relations  toward 
its  surroundings  in  the  home  and  in  society — all  things  of  fundamental  importance 
to  every  one  of  us,  rich  and  poor,  laborer  and  capitalist,  ignorant  and  wise — and. 
moreover,  all  things  which  can  be  best  started  in  those  very  years,  and  should  be 
started  under  proper  guidance.  A  wrong  bent  in  this  period,  a  neglect  at  this  time, 
can  never  be  made  good  by  any  amount  of  after  training. 

If  we  are  agreed  then  so  far  (i)  that  the  kindergarten,  or  some  similar  institution, 
is  necessary  to  a  complete  educational  system;  (2)  that  it  is  a  logical  and  necessary 
complement  of  our  present  system  of  free  public  education,  if  the  ends  for  which 
the  latter  is  organized  are  to  be  achieved;  (3)  that  it  is  bound  to  become  an  integral 
p«rt  of  this  system,  the  only  remaining  question  is  this :  What  is  the  first  thing  to 
be  done  by  those  who  wish  to  bring  about  this  ultimate  result  as  soon  as  possible? 

It  is  not  necessary  to  say  to  you  that  the  character  of  a  school  is  determined 
bv  its  teacher ;  we  all  know  that.  The  same  thing  is  true,  in  a  still  larger  sense  per- 
haps, of  the  kindergarten.  Whether  the  kindergarten  is  worth  anything  or  not 
depends  entirely  upon  the  teacher,  and  the  first  requisition  therefore  in  any  system 
of  kindergartens  is  to  have  a  sufficient  number  of  properly  qualified,  specially  trained, 
kindergarten  teachers.     The  supply  of  such  teachers  will  not  be  large  enough  unless 

203 


there  is  an  adequate  opportunity  for  their  proper  education.  Such  an  opportunity 
can  be  found  only  in  a  public  training  school  for  kindergarten  teachers,  and  such 
a  school  we  must  have  if  we  wish  to  see  the  kindergartens  generally  established. 

Perhaps,  however,  the  most  judicious  step  for  the  present  would  be  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  kindergarten  class  in  connection  with  our  present  city  normal  school, 
into  which  those  young  women  could  go,  who,  by  taste,  incline  to  that  branch  of 
the  work.  It  should  be  organized,  of  course,  in  connection  with  an  actual  kinder- 
garten, and  under  the  care  of  the  best  trainer  of  kindergarten  teachers  who  can  be 
found  in  the  country.  The  kindergartens  now  in  existence  under  your  care  should 
be  liberally  supported  by  the  city,  the  salaries  of  the  teachers  advanced,  and  the 
positions  made  practically  permanent.  In  this  way  a  career  could  be  opened  for  those 
young  women  who  have  tastes  in  this  direction,  and  the  career  should  be  made  at 
least  as  desirable  as  that  of  any  other  career  in  connection  with  public  school  work. 

Another  advantage  in  connecting  it  with  the  normal  school  would  be  that  those 
young  women  who  are  preparing  for  primary  work  could  also  have  an  opportunity  to 
see  something  of  kindergarten  work.  In  my  opinion,  no  teacher  should  be  allowed 
to  go  into  a  primary  school  who  had  not  studied,  both  theoretically  and  practically, 
the  kindergarten  and  its  work. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  summarize  what  I  have  already  said : 

(i)  That  the  three  years  preceding  the  school  age  are,  for  certain  educational 
purposes,  the  most  valuable  years  of  the  child's  life. 

(2)  That  under  our  present  system  of  public  and  private  education  these  years 
are,  relatively  speaking,  wasted. 

(3)  That  this  waste  is  just  as  general  among  the  rich  as  among  the  poor,  and  is 
little  less  ruinous  to  the  former  than  to  the  latter. 

(4)  That  it  may  be  largely  saved  by  the  general  introduction  of  some  such 
institution  as  the  kindergarten. 

(5)  That  such  general  introduction  is  only  possible  in  the  form  of  free  kinder- 
gartens, established  in  connection  with  our  public  schools,  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
accommodate  all  children  sent  to  them. 

(6)  That  the  necessary  outlay  for  such  kindergartens  would  be  amply  repaid 
to  society  by  the  increased  productiveness  of  the  generation  educated  within  them. 

(7)  That,  owing  to  the  economic  conditions  of  our  society,  which  prevent  the 
majority  of  our  children  from  going  to  school  beyond  the  tenth  year,  the  only 
means  of  securing  the  minimum  of  education  absolutely  necessary  to  the  welfare 
of  our  society  lies  in  utilizing  for  educational  purposes  the  three  years  preceding 
the  school  age,  and  the  only  institution  which  promises  to  do  this  is  the  kindergarten. 

(8)  That  the  essential  condition  of  success  in  this  movement  is  a  supply  of 
properly  trained  teachers,  which  can  be  insured  only  by  the  establishment  of  an 
adequately  equipped  training  school  for  kindergarten  teachers. 

(9)  That  the  first  step  towards  this  is  the  establishment  of  a  kindergarten  class 
in  connection  with  the  city  normal  school. 


204 


SlppcnDijc  c. 

COMMERCIAL  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

A.      COMMERCIAL   SCHOOLS   IN   EUROPE. 

Public  attention  has  only  recently  been  directed  in  the  United  States  to  the 
importance  of  commercial  training  and  almost  nothing  has  been  done  so  far  among  us 
in  this  direction.  Our  "business  colleges"  have  been  of  considerable  service  in 
giving  young  men  and  women  a  command  of  the  "facilities — stenography,  typewrit- 
ing, bookkeeping,  etc. — of  ordinary  business ;  but  nowhere  has  there  been  any  serious 
attempt  to  afford  a  sound,  broad  preparation  for  commercial  and  industrial  pur- 
suits. In  Europe,  on  the  contrary,  there  has  been  developed  in  the  last  thirty  years 
a  large  number  of  secondary  schools  of  commerce,  admirable  alike  in  board  concep- 
tion, in  comprehensive  execution  and  in  practical  results.  Founded  originally  by 
private  or  semi-public  bodies,  they  are  now  liberally  supported  by  the  city  and 
national  governments. 

The  school  of  commerce  at  Venice  is  interesting  not  only  as  one  of  the  earliest 
schools  of  this  kind,  but  also  on  account  of  the  breadth  of  its  foundation.  The  city 
and  province  joined  in  1866  with  the  government  in  establishing  not.  only  a 
higher  school  of  commerce,  but  a  law  faculty  for  those  looking  forward  to  the 
consular  career  and  a  normal  school  to  prepare  teachers  to  give  instruction  in  foreign 
languages  and  commercial  science.  The  first  year's  work  is  alike  for  all.  A 
thorough  grounding  is  given  in  Italian  literature,  in  commercial  arithmetic  and 
geography,  in  the  institutions  of  commerce  and  the  study  of  commercial  products, 
in  algebra  and  the  elements  of  the  civil  law  and  in  the  French,  German  and  English 
languages.  The  succeeding  two  years  continue  these  lines  and  add  a  study  of  com- 
mercial, maritime  and  industrial  law,  the  history  of  commerce  and  commercial 
statistics  and  political  economy.  In  the  consular  section  an  additional  two  years' 
course  is  given,  after  which  the  graduates  find,  as  it  appears,  ready  admission  to 
government  service.  In  connection  with  the  school  the  city  has  established  a  com- 
mercial museum,  which  has  proved  of  great  value  as  offering  the  basis  for  a  compara- 
tive study  of  raw  materials  and  manufactured  products  of  different  countries.  Not 
only  Venice,  but  Florence,  Turin,  Genoa,  Naples  and  Rome  have  established  higher 
schools  of  commerce,  and  many  smaller  cities  have  followed  their  lead,  until  now 
the  peninsula  is  fairly  dotted  with  them  all  the  way  from  the  Alps  to  Sicily. 

In  France  the  subject  of  commercial  education  has  received  special  attention  for 
a  number  of  years.  Schools  of  commerce  are  maintained  directly  or  subsidized  by 
the  state  in  all  the  large  cities.  One  of  the  best  examples  is  the  Ecole  des  Hautes 
Etudes  Commerciales,  founded  in  188 1  by  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce,  which 
had  already  assumed,  in  1868,  the  management  of  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce. 

20s 


In  addition  to  these  two  schools,  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  controls  also 
a  third,  located  in  the  Avenue  Trudaine.  At  Lyons.  .Marseilles  and  Havre  private 
corporations  have  founded  commercial  schools.  Others  are  nourishing  at  Rouen, 
Bordeaux  and  Rheims.  These  schools  have  so  justified  themselves  in  the  eyes  of 
the  French  public  that  the  government  has  subsidized  them  to  a  considerable  extent 
and  has  granted  an  appropriation  for  traveling  scholarships  for  their  graduates,  in 
order  to  assist  in  extending  the  field  of  commercial  activity  abroad. 

While  much  has  been  done  in  commercial  education  in  Italy,  France,  Belgium 
and  the  Netherlands,  the  best  examples  of  such  schools  are  found  in  the  German- 
speaking  countries.  Austria  was  foremost  in  the  field,  and  there  we 
find  not  only  the  Commercial  Academy  in  Vienna,  established  by  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  but  also  a  new  "export  academy,"  under  government  auspices,  with 
a  yearly  subsidy  of  $8,000  and  a  similar  grant  from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  Both 
of  these  schools  have  full  courses  extending  through  three  years,  while  the  condi- 
tions of  admission  are  high  enough  to  justify  for  them  fully  the  rank  of  secondary 
institutions.  In  Graz,  Innsbruck,  Linz,  Aussig  and  Prague  there  are  flourishing 
schools,  with  enrollments  of  from  300  to  500  pupils.  Many  smaller  but  commercially 
important  cities  have  similar  institutions,  and  throughout  Austria-Hungary  we  find 
not  less  than  fifty  commercial  schools  of  various  grades. 

Germany  proper,  however,  is  the  true  home  of  the  commercial  school.  Here 
its  importance  was  early  recognized,  and  earnest  efforts  have  been  made  to  solve 
in  this  way  the  preparation  for  modern  business  activity.  In  the  province  of 
Brandenburg,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Prussia,  there  are  fourteen  commercial  "continua- 
tion schools."  In  the  Rhine  provinces  there  are  twenty-one,  including  the  one  at 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  recently  so  splendidly  housed  by  the  city  in  new  quarters. 
In  the  province  of  Saxony  there  are  eleven;  in  Hannover,  twelve;  in 
Schleswig-Holstein  flourishing  schools  at  Kiel,  Flensburg  and  Schleswig;  in  West- 
phalia, ten,  and  nearly  two-score  more  in  the  smaller  provinces  of  Prussia;  in 
Bavaria,  eighteen;  in  the  Kingdom  of  Saxony,  not  less  than  forty;  in 
Wurtemburg  and  in  the  duchies  and  grand  duchies,  nearly  fifty,  while  the  old  com- 
mercial cities  of  the  Hansa  league  are  not  behind  in  this  systematic  effort  to  advance 
the  commercial  and  industrial  prosperity  of  the  country. 

These  efforts  have  not  been  in  vain,  and  probably  to  no  one  thing  does  Germany 
owe  today  her  foremost  commercial  position  more  than  to  her  commercial  schools, 
which  have  turned  out  thousands  of  young  men  well  equipped  for  business  pursuits. 
Her  success  is  well  deserved,  for  she  has  worked  out  an  unparalleled  system  of 
commercial  training  from  the  supplementary  evening  schools  in  the  small  community 
to  the  recently  established  Leipsic  College  of  Commerce,  which  is  fully  up  to  the 
university  grade.  No  fact  is  so  striking  as  the  thoroughgoing  way  in  which  this  has 
been  done.  This  thoroughness  can  be  more  easily  seen  perhaps  by  glancing  over  the 
following  weekly  hour-plan  of  the  Leipsic  Public  School  of  Commerce: 


-Hours- 


3d  class.  2d  class.  1st  class. 

German   4  3  3 

English    5  4  4 

French   S  4  4 

Mathematics   3  3  4 

Commercial   arithmetic  5  3  2 

206 


Hours -- 

3d  class.  2d  class.   1st  class. 

Physics    3  2 

Mechanical   technology •  ■                2 

Chemistry 2              2 

Study  of  products •  •               l 

Geography    2 

History -  2 

Commercial  science ~ 

Commercial  law  •  ■               1 

Office  work   2 

Correspondence •  •               2 

Bookkeeping    •  •               3 

Political  economy ■  •               2 

Penmanship   3  2 

Drawing   2 

Athletics   2 

Total    • 36  35  36 

Instruction  is  also  given  as  optional  work  in  : 

Hours 

3d  class.  2d  class.   1st  class. 

Italian    2  2 

Spanish   •  •  2 

Stenography 2  :  * 

The  Leipsic  course  of  study  is  practically  duplicated  in  something  like  two- 
score  schools  in  German-speaking  countries.  This  curriculum  has  been  worked 
out  after  an  experience  of  more  than  forty  years.  Instruction  is  given  by  a 
separate  corps  of  teachers  specially  trained  for  this  work  and  with  the  aid  of  text- 
books prepared  specifically  for  commercial  schools.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  subject 
included  in  the  course  is  taught  in  the  same  way  as  in  other  schools  of  like  grade. 
This  is  true  even  of  the  modern  language  work,  which  after  the  initial  prepara- 
tion in  the  grammar  is  treated  in  a  very  different  manner  from  that  of  the  ordinary 
gymnasium  or  real  school. 

England  has  come  to  a  realizing  sense  of  the  deficiencies  in  business  training 
more  particularly  through  noticing  the  extent  to  which  English  firms  are  preferring 
to  employ  German-trained  clerks.  The  London  Chamber  of  Commerce  is  granting 
certificates  to  students,  who  can  show  proficiency  in  commercial  instruction.  It  has 
given  prizes  and  scholarships  to  those  most  successful  in  examinations,  and  more 
than  300  firms  and  business  men  who  are  members  of  the  London  chamber,  have 
agreed  to  prefer  for  their  service  those  who  hold  commercial  certificates.  The 
technical  education  board  and  the  City  of  London  College  are  uniting  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  higher  commercial  school  in  connection  with  that  institution.  The 
plan  now  proposed  clearly  recognizes  the  inadequacy  of  a  six-months  or  one-year 
course  as  having  about  as  much  relation  to  effective  commercial  training 
as  the  ability  to  hold  a  plane  has  to  a  broad  course  in  architectural  engineering. 
The  same  idea  has  been  clearly  grasped  in  New  York,  where  even  a  four  years' 
course  in  the  ordinary  city  high  schools  is  recognized  as  insufficient  and  where  the 
demand  is  strong  for  a  distinctive  secondary  school  of  commerce. 


207 


B — COMMERCIAL   TRAINING   AND   THE    PUBLIC    HIGH    SCHOOL.  (1) 

In  considering  the  project  of  a  Commercial  High  School,  I  shall  pursue  mainly 
two  lines  of  thought — first,  the  relation  of  such  an  institution  to  the  educational 
system  in  general,  and,  second,  its  relation  to  the  business  interests  of  the  community. 

And  first,  as  to  its  educational  or  pedagogical  aspects.  All  secondary  education 
should  have  a  liberal  tendency.  Its  main  object  should  be  to  train  the.  pupils  to 
think,  to  aid  them  in  getting  possession  of  all  their  powers  and  in  acquiring  habits 
of  order,  neatness,  promptness  and  fidelity.  It  should  be  regarded  in  a  pre-eminent 
sense  as  a  foundation  upon  which  the  pupil  may  build  safely  and  rapidly  in  the  future 
years.  For  a  long  time  men  thought  that  the  study  of  the  classics  and  mathematics 
was  the  only  method  of  laying  such  foundations,  and  even  now  the  influence  of 
that  idea  still  remains  powerful  in  the  field  of  secondary  education. 

This  idea  did  comparatively  little  harm  as  long  as  the  mediaeval  conditions  of 
life  in  which  the  idea  originated  still  existed.  But  when  the  modern  era  opened  and 
natural  science  with  all  its  wonderful  achievements  started  into  life,  it  was  only 
with  the  very  greatest  difficulty  that  it  could  secure  any  representation  whatever 
in  our  schools  and  colleges,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  the  idea  above  mentioned. 
The  adherents  of  the  old  style  of  education  were  not  content  with  preserving  it  as 
one  of  the  pathways  toward  culture — side  by  side  with  education  based  on  modern 
subjects — but  they  insisted  that  it  should  still  remain  the  only  one. 

The  attempt  was,  of  course,  predoomed  to  failure — as  surely  as  the  later  con- 
test of  the  stage-owners  and  stage-drivers  against  the  railways — but  it  served  to 
hinder  progress  for  a  long  period.  Natural  science,  however,  finally  made  its  way 
into  the  schools  and  a  road  to  culture  was  cast  up,  based  on  modern  subjects. 

The  history  of  education  repeated  itself  again  immediately.  The  defenders 
of  the  old  and  the  champions  of  the  new  education  combined  to  prevent  any  further 
innovations.  The  representatives  of  natural  science  joined  with  the  defenders  of 
the  classics  in  maintaining  that  there  are  only  two  roads  to  true  culture — the 
classics  and  natural  science.  An  illustration  of  this  tendency  was  afforded  a  few 
years  ago,  when  the  movement  in  favor  of  Manual  Training  High  Schools  was 
begun.  These  two  parties  united  in  opposing  the  introduction  of  the  so-called  Manual 
Training  Schools,  on  the  ground  that  their  curriculum  could  offer  no  suitable  intel- 
lectual training.  But  the  Manual  Training  Schools  are  demonstrating  that  there 
is  still  another  road  to  culture  besides  that  through  the  classics,  mathematics  and 
natural  sciences — in  the  narrow  sense  in  which  the  last  term  is  sometimes  used. 

And  now  those  of  us  who  believe  in  the  training  furnished  by  the  Commercial 
High  School  as  one  of  the  legitimate  avenues  to  education,  maintain  that  there 
is  still  another  highway  to  that  state  of  mind  and  heart  known  as  culture.  Just 
as  the  study  of  human  history — as  expressed  in  language  and  literature;  or  as 
the  study  of  the  external  world,  as  in  natural  science;  or  as  the  study  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  mechanical  and  artistic  creation  may  lead  the  child  on  to  the  fullest  devel- 
opment of  its  powers — one  line  of  work  appealing  to  one  child  and  another  to 
another;  so  the  study  of  human  history,  as  revealed  in  the  relation  of  man  to 
his  environment,  looked  upon  as  a  means  of  supplying  his  wants  (Political  Economy), 
and  the  study  of  human  history  as  revealed  in  the  development  and  organization 
of  the  complex  machinery  of  business  and   society    (Politics  and   Sociology)    are 

(l)  Address  by  Edmund  J.  James,  University  of  Chicago. 

208 


as  truly  means  of  mental  development  as  any  of  the  preceding,  and  appeal  to  some 
children,  to  whom  any  of  the  former  is  a  weariness  of  the  flesh. 

And  just  as  the  study  of  the  classics  will  accomplish  the  highest  educational 
result  for  one  type  of  mind,  and  that  of  natural  science  for  another,  and  that  of 
mechanics  and  art  for  another,  so  that  of  politics  and  economics  and  business  will 
do  it  for  still  another. 

As  educationists,  we  plead  for  this  school  in  the  interest  of  the  educational 
enrichment  of  our  scheme  of  public  training.  There  are  boys  in  our  community 
to  whom  none  of  the  existing  courses  appeal,  whom  this  course  would  be  a  means 
of  awakening,  arousing,  training,  educating. 

To  put  it  in  another  way,  all  of  us  believe  that  a  proper  educational  foundation 
is  absolutely  necessary,  and  that  the  period  of  secondary  education  is  the  time 
for  laying  such  foundation  ;  but  we  cannot  concede  that  there  is  only  one  kind 
of  proper  foundation.  On  the  contrary,  just  as  the  character  of  the  soil  and  the 
surrounding  circumstances  make  a  foundation  which  would  be  suitable  for  one 
building  entirely  unsuitable  for  another,  so  the  variety  in  the  structure  of  boys' 
minds,  in  their  tastes,  their  inherited  tendencies,  their  ambitions,  point  to  the  fact 
that  no  one  scheme  of  education  can  lay  a  suitable  foundation  for  all  boys  in  the 
community. 

Variety  of  schools  and  courses  is,  in  our  view,  absolutely  necessary  to  develop 
the  latent  intellectual  wealth  of  society.  These  courses  should  be  all  thorough, 
liberal,  culture-giving — and  there  should,  in  the  interest  of  education  itself,  be  at 
least  four  such  schools — one  devoted  to  Language,  Literature  and  Mathematics : 
another  to  Mathematics  and  Natural  Science ;  another  to  the  principles  underlying 
mechanical  and  artistic  creation ;  and  still  another  to  Politics,  Economics  and 
Business.  The  first  two  exist  now  in  the  ordinary  high  schools.  The  third  is 
provided  for  by  our  manual  training  schools.  The  fourth  we  are  arguing  for  at 
present.  It  is  not  proposed  that  any  one  of  these  courses  should  exclude  all  the 
elements  of  the  other.  Quite  the  contrary.  Each  one  would  contain  necessarily 
much  that  is  found  in  the  others ;  but  it  is  meant  simply  that  the  various  courses 
shall  be  built  up  around  the  respective  nuclei  indicated. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  while  we  argue  for  a  Commercial  High  School,  which 
shall  answer  the  wants  of  a  new  class  in  the  community,  we  are  not  asking  for  a 
trade  school  in  any  different  sense  from  that  in  which  the  present  high  schools 
or  the  manual  training  schools  are  technical  or  trade  schools.  The  object  of  all 
three  alike  is  liberal  education,  is  foundation  laying;  the  only  difference  is  in  the 
subject  matter  of  instruction  used  for  the  purpose. 

Having  thus  indicated  our  idea  as  to  the  relation  of  this  school  in  an  educational 
way  to  existing  schools,  a  point  to  which  I  shall  again  revert  at  the  end  of  the 
paper,  and  having  suggested  its  pedagogical  justification,  let  us  see  what  such  a 
school  would  be  in  its  relation  to  the  life  of  the  community  at  large. 

In  the  midst  of  the  recent  renascence  of  public  interest  in  everything  which 
concerns  the  welfare  of  our  community,  certainly  the  promotion  of  our  trade  and 
commerce  should  not  be  overlooked.  In  a  great  manufacturing  center  we  some- 
times lose  sight  of  the  fundamental  importance  of  trade  to  modern  business.  There 
is.  of  course,  no  danger  of  the  commercial  members  of  society  failing  to  realize 
its  function,  but  the  great  mass  of  the  community  may  easily  underestimate  the  role 

209 


which  commerce  and  commercial  organization  plays  in  our  modern  industrial 
communities. 

It  may  well  be  questioned  whether,  even  in  the  case  of  the  individual  manufac- 
turer, his  prosperity,  his  industrial  solidity,  does  not  depend  quite  as  much,  in  the 
long  run,  upon  his  ability  to  market  his  wares  well,  *.  e.,  upon  his  ability  as  a 
merchant,  as  it  does  upon  his  ability  to  manufacture  efficiently,  i.  e.,  cheaply;  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  at  all  that  a  nation  cannot  be  a  great  manufacturing  nation 
under  modern  conditions  unless  it  be  also  a  great  commercial  nation.  The  supremacy 
of  England  in  the  world  market  of  to-day  is  due  quite  as  much  to  the  enterprise 
of  English  traders  as  to  the  skill  of  English  manufacturers. 

Nor  must  we  forget  that  while  the  function  of  the  trader  in  foreign  commerce 
is  unquestioned,  it  is  none  the  less  important  in  our  domestic  intercourse.  The 
welfare  of  a  manufacturing  industry  depends  to  a  large  extent  upon  the  ability  of 
its  enterprisers  to  gauge  the  varying  wants  of  different  communities  and  to  adapt 
their  industry  to  the  production  of  the  things  which  are  wanted,  or  which,  in 
common  parlance,  will  sell.  This  last  work,  i.  e.,  the  study  of  the  public  tastes  and 
demands,  is  par  excellence  the  work  of  the  trader,  and  it  is  none  the  less  commer- 
cial in  character  because  the  successful  manufacturer  devotes  much  time  and  atten- 
tion to  it,  because  that  simply  means  that  the  manufacturer  himself  is,  in  so  far,  a 
trader. 

Our  manufacturing  interest,  then,  can  never  attain  that  place  which  it  might, 
nor  even  hold  its  present  proud  position,  unless  our  commercial  enterprise  hold 
pace  with  it  or  even  outrun  it.  The  rapid  growth  of  New  York  as  a  manufacturing 
center  finds  its  explanation  in  large  part  in  its  extraordinary  growth  along  com- 
mercial lines. 

But  I  am  sure  that  I  need  not  dwell  further  on  this  point  before  an  audience 
like  this.  The  essential  importance  of  our  city's  trade  to  our  city's  prosperity  you 
will  all  concede. 

I  will  content  myself,  therefore,  with  one  more  remark  on  this  subject,  and  that  is, 
that  it  seems  to  me  that  the  possibility  of  establishing  and  extending  our  commer- 
cial connections  seems  to  be  even  more  important  now  than  ever  before  in  our  history. 

The  growing  capacity  of  our  mills  cannot  be  utilized  unless  we  find  new  and 
more  fruitful  markets  either  at  home  or  abroad ;  and  if  their  growing  capacity  cannot 
be  utilized,  the  possibility  of  efficient  production  will  be  much  diminished.  The 
finding  out  of  new  markets  is  a  function  of  the  trader.  I  said  new  markets  either 
at  home  or  abroad.  I  believe  that  our  manufacturing  industry  has  reached  a  state 
along  many  lines  which  would  enable  it  to  compete  under  present  conditions  in 
the  world  market,  if  we  had  a  race  of  traders  who  would  search  out  the  wants  of 
foreign  countries  and  induce  our  manufacturers  to  consult  their  peculiarities. 

If  the  tendency  now  prevalent  in  congress  shall  have  its  way,  and  our  tariff 
policy  is  destined  to  be  radically  changed,  I  see  no  salvation  for  American  manu- 
facturing industry  except  to  throw  itself  as  never  before  into  the  fields  where  it 
is  at  a  relative  advantage,  and  press  out  into  the  competition  for  foreign  markets 
which  is  now  so  keen  in  Europe.  In  this  work  our  commercial  enterprise  must 
again  come  to  the  front,  or  our  endeavors  will  be  in  vain. 

In  this  new  struggle  for  industrial  supremacy  there  seems  no  reason  in  the 
nature  of  things  why  this  city  should  be  left  far  in  the  rear.     Its  situation  is  favor- 

210 


able,  and  if  it  should  develop  half  the  enterprise  in  the  way  of  improving  and 
defending  its  position  which  has  been  shown  of  late  years  by  several  great  European 
cities — notably  Hamburg,  Antwerp,  Geneva,  and  lately  Manchester — it  would  again 
start  on  a  career  of  commercial  expansion  which  would  enable  it  to  hold  its  own: 
for  all  time  to  come,  even  if  it  could  not  hope  to  regain  its  old  position  at  the  head 
of  American  commerce  as  well  as  industry. 

In  the  brief  time  at  my  disposal  this  evening  I  cannot,  of  course,  undertake 
even  to  mention  all  the  conditions  of  a  flourishing  trade,  or  to  outline,  even  in 
the  meagerest  way,  the  policy  we  must  follow  if  we  would  hold  our  own  in  com- 
merce and  manufacturing  under  present  conditions ;  nor,  even  if  I  had  the  time,  do 
I  flatter  myself  that  I  should  be  able  to  do  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  my  business  for  some  years  to  contemplate,  as 
a  student,  the  great  world  of  modern  business,  and  to  utilize  the  result  of  my 
studies  in  the  work  of  education ;  and  in  the  course  of  my  studies,  here  and  else- 
where, I  have  arrived  at  certain  conclusions  as  to  the  importance  of  some  elements 
in  this  problem  which  are  often  neglected,  and  it  is  one  of  these  which  I  wish  to 
present  this  evening. 

Manifold  and  complicated  are  the  conditions  which  determine  the  commercial 
prosperity  or  decadence  of  a  city  or  a  country — and  he  who  assigns  any  one  reason 
for  it  demonstrates  his  incapacity  in  this  department  of  human  investigation.  With- 
out wishing  to  assign  too  much  importance  to  the  following  consideration,  we  may 
yet  claim  that  it  is  a  very  fundamental  condition  of  a  flourishing  trade  that  the 
directors  of  commerce  and  industry — those  selected  few  who  by  their  natural  talents 
and  acquired  skill  have  become  the  captains  and  princes  in  industry  and  trade — 
shall  find  it  possible  to  obtain  efficient  assistance  in  their  enterprises.  The  average 
man  and  woman  in  our  society  will  never  reach  a  loftier  position  than  that  of  high 
private ;  but  the  possibility  of  achievement  on  the  part  of  great  commanders, 
whether  in  war  or  trade,  depends  primarily  upon  the  degree  of  intelligence  and 
efficiency  to  be  found  in  the  average  private. 

Is  there  an  adequate  provision  for  this  need  in  our  community?  Does  the 
director  of  business  enterprises  find  it  easy  to  get  the  right  kind  of  assistance?  Ask 
any  intelligent  and  successful  business  man  among  your  acquaintances.  I  am 
not  talking  now,  of  course,  of  clerks,  or  stenographers,  or  typewriters,  or  book- 
keepers— whose  business  is  largely  mechanical,  though  even  in  this  department  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  of  fifty  candidates  for  any  fairly  responsible  position,  not  more 
than  five  can  be  considered  eligible.  I  am  thinking  of  positions  which  demand 
fidelity,  intelligence,  special  knowledge  and  sound  judgment — responsible  and  dis- 
cretionary positions,  in  other  words — positions  in  which  initiative  enterprise  and 
reliable  qualities  are  called  for.  I  take  it  there  can  be  only  one  answer  to  this 
question,  unless  our  experience  has  been  very  different  from  that  of  busi- 
ness men  in  other  cities  and  other  countries. 

My  proposition,  then,  is  that  a  school  of  the  grade  of  the  ordinary  city  high 
school,  whose  curriculum  should  be  made  up  to  a  considerable  extent  of  subjects 
relating  to  modern  trade  and  industry — its  origin,  development,  organization,  rela- 
tions, etc. — would  do  a  substantial  service  to  our  trade  and  commerce  by  increasing 
the  number  of  properly  qualified  young  men  who  are  seeking  the  positions  of  assist- 
ants in  our  commercial  houses. 

211 


Of  course,  no  one  will  maintain  for  an  instant  that  such  a  school  could  turn 
out  young  men  acquainted  with  the  details  of  commercial  life,  and  qualified  to  take 
positions  at  the  head  of  important  branches  of  business — such  knowledge  and  fitness 
can  only  be  acquired  in  actual  business  life  and  through  the  experience  of  years.  But 
it  could  turn  out  young  men,  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age,  with  a  deep  interest 
in  commercial  life,  with  considerable  knowledge  of  the  general  history  of  com- 
merce, with  some  acquaintance  with  the  most  important  operations  of  modern 
commercial  business,  with  some  knowledge  of  finance,  with  a  good  English  educa- 
tion, and  with  an  ambition  to  succeed  in  commercial  undertakings — in  a  word,  a 
band  of  youth  ready  to  enter  upon  the  work  of  acquiring  business  experience 
with  eagerness  and  enthusiasm.  The  training  which  such  a  school  could  furnish 
would  enable  a  lad  to  learn  the  business  more  thoroughly  and  in  a  shorter  time 
than  he  could  have  done  without  such  advantages.  Such  a  school  would,  more- 
over, offer  an  opportunity  to  learn  modern  languages  thoroughly,  so  that  those 
boys  who  wish  to  prepare  themselves  to  represent  our  firms  abroad  could  find  good 
facilities  for  such  education. 

The  statement  of  the  case,  it  would  almost  seem,  ought  to  carry  conviction  with  it, 
but  there  is  a  number  of  considerations  which,  taken  together,  afford  us  an  almost 
absolute  demonstration  of  the  desirability  of  such  an  institution. 

In  the  first  place,  consider  how  few  opportunities  the  modern  business  house 
offers  the  youth  who  enters  it  for  an  all-round  training  for  commercial  life.  The 
division  of  labor,  characteristic  of  our  modern  world  in  general,  has  been  carried 
out  in  commerce  also  so  far  that  it  is  difficult  for  a  boy  to  get  a  chance  to  see  all 
sides  of  the  business.  He  is  put  into  one  department,  and,  if  he  succeeds  in  it, 
that  constitutes  a  reason  for  keeping  him  there,  unless  some  accident  makes  it 
absolutely  necessary  to  try  him  in  a  new  place,  because  no  one  else  can  be  found 
for  it.  Working  in  a  department  of  that  sort  for  a  long  time  is  necessarily  narrow- 
ing, and  if  the  youth  does  not  bring  to  his  work  a  general  training  which  enables 
him  to  learn  from  everything  he  sees  or  touches,  he  is  very  apt  to  cease  growing, 
and,  consequently,  to  fail  at  critical  moments  when  responsibility  must.be  laid  upon 
him.  A  course  of  systematic  training  along  business  lines  before  entering  on  his 
work  would  prepare  him  for  learning  his  special  business  more  rapidly  and  thor- 
oughly and  would  enable  him  to  take  up  new  work  with  so  much  the  more  cer- 
tainty of  success.  The  differentiation  of  work  seems  destined  to  be  carried  farther 
and  farther,  and  with  every  step  in  this  direction  it  will  become  more  difficult  for 
a  boy  to  get  a  suitable  training  for  business  entirely  within  the  business  houses.  It 
is,  however,  a  notorious  fact  that  the  modern  business  man  has  no  time  to  devote 
to  apprentices,  i.  c,  to  youth  who  enter  his  house  to  learn  the  business,  and  to 
whom  he  is  bound  to  give  time  and  attention,  so  that  they  may  learn  it.  He  now 
hires  a  boy  and  pays  him  ofttimes  more  than  his  services  are  really  worth,  but, 
in  return,  feels  himself  bound  to  do  nothing  more  than  get  the  most  out  of  him 
he  can,  without  regard  to  whether  the  boy  learns  anything  or  not.  In  a  word,  the 
merchant  01  to-day  cannot  afford  to  lake  the  time  necessary  to  train  the  average 
youth  into  a  good  assistant. 

The  modern  question,  then,  in  this  country,  is  not,  can  a  school  give  a  better 
training  than  an  apprenticeship  system;  but  can  a  school  give  anything  worth  the 
having,  along  this  line,  as  the  choice  is  between  the  school  and  nothing? 


Now,  experience  shows,  I  think,  not  only  that  such  a  school  can  give  some- 
thing worth  the  boy's  while  to  take,  considering  the  fact  that  the  apprenticeship 
system  is  gone,  but  that,  even  where  the  latter  is  in  existence,  the  Commercial 
High  School  offers  an  element  in  the  youth's  training  which  is  valuable  and  which 
the  apprenticeship  system  does  not  afford. 

This  brings  me  to  the  consideration  that  the  value  of  a  Commercial  High  School 
to  the  trade  and  commerce  of  a  community  has  been  amply  demonstrated  by  a 
somewhat  extended  experience  in  continental  countries.  In  the  Europe  of  to-day 
the  law  of  competition  is  at  work  in  the  extremest  form.  The  struggle  of  France 
and  Germany  and  Italy  and  Austria  and  Russia  for  the  supremacy  in  Europe  has 
become  so  bitter  and  all  absorbing  that  no  means  of  getting  ahead  is  left  unused. 
The  ordinary  methods  employed  in  the  military  sphere  are  striking,  and  so  well 
known  as  to  call  for  no  mention.  But  the  methods  in  the  industrial  sphere  are 
no  less  striking  and  fundamental— passing  over  the  question  of  prohibitory  and 
differential  tariffs,  which  have  been  used  in  the  most  unsparing  way— it  is  sufficient 
for  us,  in  this  connection,  to  direct  attention  to  the  evident  belief  on  the  part  of 
all  the  nations  that,  other  things  being  approximately  equal,  the  question  of  edu- 
cation is  the  fundamental  question,  and  that  that  nation  will  ultimately  triumph 
which  secures  the  best  educational  results.  Consequently,  schools  of  all  kinds 
have  been  established  and  developed,  including  military  schools,  to  train  soldiers 
and  officers ;  agricultural  schools  to  train  farmers,  who,  by  reason  of  intelligence, 
can  hold  their  own  against  America  and  India;  industrial  schools  of  all  sorts  to 
train  mechanics,  foremen,  etc.,  and,  finally,  recognizing  the  importance  of  Commerce 
to  Industry,  commercial  schools  of  all  grades,  from  those  intended  to  train  sten- 
ographers, clerks,  shop  girls,  etc.,  to  those  for  the  future  directors  and  managers  of 
great  business  firms. 

In  proportion  as  competition  has  increased  at  home  and  abroad  have  these  schools 
been  multiplied.  Within  a  short  time  the  German  government  has  established,  in 
Berlin,  a  school  where  youth,  preparing  for  business  careers  in  Asia,  could  learn 
all  the  leading  languages  of  Eastern  and  Western  Asia,  including  Chinese,  Jap- 
anese, Arabic  and  Turkish.  France  has  done  much  the  same,  and  in  both  countries 
there  is  the  keenest  rivalry  in  providing  facilities  for  their  youth  to  learn  the  lead- 
ing modern  languages  spoken  in  the  Western  World,  especially  English,  Italian 
and  Spanish.  Belgium,  which  is  so  largely  dependent  for  its  prosperity  on  foreign 
trade,  is  following  rapidly  along  the  same  line. 

In  Germany,  the  apprenticeship  system  in  the  business  houses  is  still  preserved, 
and  the  laws  enable  a  parent  to  hold  a  merchant  to  a  pretty  close  account  for 
his  duty  toward  the  apprentice.  But  in  spite  of  this  fact,  the  popularity  of  the 
commercial  high  school  is  rapidly  increasing,  because  it  is  recognized  that  it  offers 
a  training  for  which  the  apprenticeship  system  is  no  adequate  substitute.  Many 
merchants  allow  youth  in  their  employ,  who  are  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of 
years,  to  attend  these  schools  for  a  certain  number  of  hours  a  day,  and  even  pay 
their  tuition  for  them  to  boot ;  because  they  consider  that  the  efficiency  of  the  boys 
is  vastly  increased  by  it. 

The  results  of  these  schools  are  evident,  not  merely  in  the  improvement  in 
business  methods,  which  has  gone  on  very  rapidly  in  the  last  twenty  years  in  these 
countries,  but  also  in  the  work  of  these  nations  in  foreign  trade.     Youth  who  have 

213 


had  such  a  training  are  eagerly  sought  by  English  houses,  either  in  England  itself 
or  in  English  trade  centers.  It  is  a  well-recognized  fact  that  German  youth  are, 
to  an  appreciable  extent,  supplanting  English  lads  in  the  great  commercial  houses 
of  London. 

Various  parliamentary  commissions,  appointed  to  examine  into  the  causes  of 
recent  industrial  depression  in  England  and  the  reasons  for  the  rapid  growth  of 
German  commerce  in  places  hitherto  entirely  subject  to  English  influence,  have 
emphasized  this  fact,  and  have,  furthermore,  called  attention  to  the  circumstance  that 
these  German  youth,  who  are  employed  in  English  houses,  soon  set  up  business  for 
themselves  and  become  most  efficient  agents  of  German  firms  in  the  very  heart  and 
center  of  English  trade.  They  attribute  the  willingness  of  English  business  men 
to  employ  German  youth  in  preference  to  English  youth,  chiefly  to  the  fact  that 
they  ordinarily  possess  a  much  better  general  and  special  training.  It  is  a  signifi- 
cant fact,  in  this  connection,  that  there  is  not,  in  all  England,  a  single  commercial 
high  school  which  would  bear  comparison  with  any  one  of  a  hundred  in  Germany. 

The  most  striking  testimonial  to  the  value  of  such  schools  to  the  trade  and  com- 
merce of  the  locality  and  nation  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  great  majority 
of  the  most  prominent  continental  schools  are  supported  not  by  the  government 
but  by  private  associations  of  merchants  and  business  men  in  general,  or  by  boards 
of  trade,  chambers  of  commerce,  and  similar  organizations. 

A  further  evidence  that  the  training  of  these  schools  is  considered  valuable  may 
be  seen  in  the  fact  that  in  spite  of  the  high  tuition  fees  the  attendance  is  rapidly 
growing.  Thus  at  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies,  in  Paris,  where  the 
tuition  is  $200  a  year — equal  to,  say,  $250  or  $300  in  this  country— a  rate  far  in 
excess  of  that  charged  in  any  schools  here,  the  attendance  rose  by  regular  stages 
from  65  in  1881-82 — the  year  of  opening — to  244  in  1892-93. 

The  Superior  School  of  Commerce,  of  Paris,  has  graduated  nearly  6,500  youth 
since  its  establishment  in  1820,  though  the  tuition  is  also  very  high  for  French 
conditions,  being  $150  per  year. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  these  Schools  are  recruited — not  from  the  poorer 
classes  of  the  community,  but  from  the  well-to-do — in  fact,  their  pupils  are  the 
sons  of  successful  business  men  themselves.  In  America  such  schools  must  be  open 
to  all. 

Before  turning  to  the  second  proposition  which  I  shall  advance  on  this  subject. 
I  may  remark,  in  passing,  that  the  kind  of  school  I  am  arguing  for  does  not  exist 
at  present  in  any  American  community.  The  so-called  business  colleges,  which 
are  so  numerous  in  our  cities,  are  doing,  many  of  them,  valuable  work;  but  they 
have  to  do  chiefly  with  facilities — they  train  their  pupils  for  what  might  be  almost 
called  mechanical  work.  They  offer  courses,  running  from  three  to  six  months— in 
extraordinary  cases  to  a  school  year  of  nine  or  ten  months.  They  are,  in  their 
worst  specimens,  mere  cram  shops,  and  do  almost  nothing  toward  training  their 
pupils  in  those  habits  of  thought  and  conduct  which,  after  all,  are  more  important 
than  mere  technical  knowledge. 

I  am  arguing  here  for  schools  which  take  the  boy  at  fifteen  years  of  age  and  keep 
him  steadily  at  work  for  three  years,  or  better  for  four  years,  until  he  not  only 
knows  many  things  well,  but  until  he  has  acquired  such  habits  of  steady  work  and 

214 


application,  promptness,  neatness  and  thoughtfulness,  as  will  make  him  an  invaluable 
assistant  in  any  business  office. 

Now,  such  a  school  as  this  would  not  only  be  of  value  to  our  trade  and  com- 
merce by  furnishing  it  with  properly  trained  lads,  but,  as  already  noted,  to  our  exist- 
ing system  of  public  education  as  well.  Our  High  Schools  furnish  an  opportunity 
for  our  youth  to  obtain  a  preparation  for  college  or  the  professional  school;  our 
Manual  Training  High  Schools  offer  our  boys  an  opportunity  to  get  a  preparatory 
training  for  the  schools  of  engineering,  or  such  a  training  as  will  enable  them  to 
enter  with  profit  our  machine  shops  and  factories.  The  former  trains— generally 
speaking — for  the  learned  professions,  i.  e.,  it  gives  a  kind  of  training  which  a  boy 
should  have  before  he  takes  up  his  professional  studies ;  the  latter  for  the  great 
department  of  the  handicrafts  and  engineering  professions.  We  need  another  insti- 
tution, side  by  side  with  these,  which  will  train  for  the  great  field  of  commercial 
activity  and  business  in  general. 

If  one  objects  to  the  statement  that  the  course  of  the  High  Schools  "trains  for" 
professions,  we  may  say  instead,  as  indicated  in  the  first  part  of  this  paper,  that 
while  it  gives  a  liberal  training,  the  subject  matter  of  much  of  its  instruction  is 
such  as  to  be  specially  useful  to  young  men  who  expect  to  enter  the  professions; 
and  it  is  in  this  sense  and  no  other  that  tne  properly  organized  Commercial  High 
School  would  train  for  business  life.  The  result  is  the  same  in  either  case.  They 
are  both  liberal  institutions,  giving  a  general  training— using  for  this  purpose  in  one 
case  chiefly  language  and  literature;  in  the  other  chiefly  the  sciences  relating  to 
society  and  business. 

I  may  say,  in  passing,  that  the  need  of  commercial  education  will  not  be  satisfied 
by  the  establishment  of  a  commercial  course  side  by  side  with  other  courses  in  our 
existing  high  schools.  All  educational  experience  demonstrates  that  such  a  course 
does  not  receive  that  care  and  attention  which  are  necessary  in  order  to  make  it 
thoroughly  efficient.  Its  interests  would  be  habitually  neglected  and  subordinated 
to  the  supposed  interests  of  all  older  courses,  and  just  as  it  was  necessary  to  estab- 
lish the  Manual  Training  High  Schools  as  separate  schools  and  not  mere  courses 
in  the  Central  High  School  in  order  to  secure  for  them  and  the  kind  of  training 
underlying  them  a  fair  chance,  so  it  will  be  necessary  to  organize  the  Com- 
mercial High  Schools  separate  from  both. 

Closely  connected  with  the  proposition  that  a  Commercial  High  School  is 
demanded  in  the  interests  of  our  public  educational  system,  is  my  last  proposition, 
that  it  is  called  for  in  the  interest  of  the  boys  themselves.  This  is,  of  course,  the 
converse  almost  of  the  first.  It  is  proper  that  the  community  should  provide 
facilities  for  the  youth  to  get  a  preparation  for  college  or  the  professional  school ; 
it  is  proper  for  it  to  provide  facilities  to  get  a  preparation  for  the  engineering  school 
or  for  the  life  of  the  shops  or  the  factories ;  but  it  is  no  less  proper  for  it  to  provide 
facilities  for  the  youth  to  get  a  training  in  preparation  for  the  great  field  of  busi- 
ness and  commercial  life.  It  is,  indeed,  unfair  to  look  out  for  the  interests  of  the 
youth  who  wish  to  enter  a  profession  or  take  up  engineering,  and  yet  do  nothing 
for  him  who  wishes  to  enter  a  business  career. 

Of  course,  in  planning  such  a  school,  reference  must  be  had  to  the  fair  claims 
of  an  educational  institution.  Just  as  the  high  schools  do  not  undertake  to  teach 
law  or  medicine  or  theology,  but  do  aim  to  give  that  general  training  which  is 

215 


common  and  desirable  to  the  members  of  all  the  professions;  just  as  the  Manual 
Training  High  School  does  not  undertake  to  prepare  its  students  to  be  carpenters, 
machinists  and  engineers,  but  does  aim  to  give  that  general  training  which  is  com- 
mon to  all  the  various  branches  of  skilled  manual  labor,  and  which  underlies  the 
calling  of  engineers,  so  the  Commercial  High  School  would  not  undertake  to  turn 
out  a  cotton  or  wool  or  grain  merchant,  a  banker,  broker  or  insurance  agent,  but 
it  would  aim  to  give  a  training  and  a  body  of  knowledge  which  would  be  found 
equally  useful  in  all  these  and  similar  occupations.  The  Commercial  High  School 
would  be  expected  to  keep  in  mind,  as  its  sister  institutions,  that  the  man  is,  after 
all,  higher  than  his  calling;  that  its  work  is  education  and  training,  not  cramming, 
and  that  its  pupils  should  be  first  of  all  honest  men,  intelligent  and  educated  gen- 
tlemen and  patriotic  and  public-spirited  citizens,  and  then  good  brokers,  bankers  and 
merchants— or,  rather,  that  they  should  be  one  and  all  at  the  same  time. 

Before  closing  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  indicate  briefly  the  content  of  the  curriculum 
of  such  a  school.  It  should  be,  in  my  opinion,  at  least  three  years  in  length,  and 
better  four  than  three,  admitting  boys  directly  from  the  grammar  schools  of  the 
city,  as  do  our  present  high  schools. 

Accounting,  of  course,  should  occupy  a  prominent  place.  It  ought  to  be  taught 
more  as  a  matter  of  principle  than  detail,  i.  e.,  with  an  idea  of  enabling  the  pupils 
to  understand  easily  any  system  which  they  may  have  to  learn  in  subsequent  life, 
rather  than  trying  to  make  expert  accountants  of  them  in  any  one  line.  It  should 
be  at  once  more  scientific  and  more  practical  than  at  present.  It  should  be  used, 
moreover,  as  a  means  of  studying  commercial  and  industrial  life.  If  a  man  under- 
stands thoroughly  the  system  of  accounting  which  a  great  business  house  has 
developed  as  a  result  of  its  daily  experience  through  years  of  work,  he  has  gained 
an  insight  into  some  of  the  most  characteristic  features  of  that  business. 

The  books  of  a  great  railway  corporation,  for  example,  are  an  epitome  not  only 
of  the  actual  transactions  of  such  company,  but  they  are  a  reflex  of  the  ideas  of 
the  managers  as  to  some  of  the  most  difficult  questions  of  policy  in  regard  to 
transportation. 

This  subject  of  accounting  needs,  moreover,  much  more  attention  than  it  has 
received  thus  far.  When  it  is  impossible  for  the  managers  of  a  great  railway  system 
after  months  of  effort  to  do  more  than  indicate  in  a  very  general  way  what  has 
been  done  with  the  funds  belonging  to  the  company,  there  is  surely  needed  no  argu- 
ment on  this  question. 

Side  by  side  with  accounting  should  be  pursued,  of  course,  the  ordinary  mathe- 
matical courses  of  a  high  school,  except  that  some  attention  should  be  given  to  the 
application  of  arithmetic  and  algebra  to  the  operations  of  commercial  life — includ- 
ing operations  in  commission  and  interest,  calculation  of  all  sorts,  foreign  exchange, 
arbitration  of  exchange,  foreign  systems  of  weights,  measures  and  money,  interest 
on  stock,  bonds,  annuities,  premiums,  etc. 

The  history  of  commerce  and  commercial  systems  should  also  form  a  constituent 
of  the  course.  The  youth  should  study  the  origin  and  development  of  commerce 
and  its  methods  from  the  earliest  times  down  to  the  present — both  as  to  articles 
which  have  formed  the  staples  of  commerce  and  the  methods  by  which  business 
was  transacted. 

Commercial  geography — dealing  with  the  origin  of.  and  the  methods  of  obtain- 

216 


ing  and  producing,   the   various  articles  of   modern   commerce,   should   also   receive 
much  attention.  . 

The  study  of  commercial  products  and  their  peculiarities  is  also  important.  The 
youth  who  has  completed  such  a  course  should  know  in  a  general  way  the  various 
"purposes,  for  example,  for  which  the  different  kinds  of  wool  are  utilized— should 
understand  why  a  manufacturer  of  woolen  goods  needs  wool  from  a  certain  place 
in  the  world  for  his  product,  and  why  that  particular  kind  of  wool  is  grown  success- 
fully in  that  particular  place.  He  should  also  he  able  to  recognize  by  sight  the  most 
important  grades  and  conditions  of  this  product. 

A  consideration  of  the  modern  systems  of  transportation  should  also  be  included 
in  such  a  course— not  merely  a  history  of  its  origin  and  development— but  an  exam- 
ination of  the  different  systems  of  railroad  and  steamship  tariffs  and  the  principles 
underlying  them,  together  with  the  various  methods  of  shipment  and  the  law  relating 
to  the  responsibility  of  shipper  and  transporter. 

It  would  go  without  saying  that  opportunity  should  be  offered  to  pursue  modern 
languages  so  thoroughly  that  the  pupil  could  speak  and  write  them  with  fluency,  so 
as  to  utilize  them  in  business  correspondence.  In  such  a  school  Spanish  should 
receive  special  attention,  as  the  possibility  of  spreading  our  trade  rapidly  in  the 
South  American  states  depends,  among  other  things,  on  our  having  properly  edu- 
cated young  men  who  can  go  into  those  countries  and  transact  business  in  their 
languages. 

Training  in  penmanship  and  business  correspondence,  and  the  correct  and  fluent 
use  of  English,  would  be  understood  as  fundamental  elements  in  such  a  course, 
while  general  history  and  literature,  American  history  and  American  literature,  and 
our  American  political  system  and  political  economy,  should  all  receive  that  ample 
attention  which  their  importance  in  the  liberal  training  of  educated  American  citi- 
zens demands.  Opportunity  should  also  be  given  to  those  students  who  desire  to 
learn  stenography  and  typewriting  and  the  other  subjects  of  instruction  represented 
in  our  ordinary  business  college  courses. 

It  is  believed  that  a  curriculum  based  on  these  ideas,  worked  out  in  its  details 
by  competent  educators  and  properly  taught  by  experienced  teachers,  could  afford 
a  training  which  every  young  man  would  do  well  to  obtain  before  entering  upon 
a  practical  career  in  business.  He  would  acquire  habits  of  work  and  methods  of 
working  which  would  be  invaluable  to  him.  He  would  develop  the  moral  qualities 
necessary  to  a  good  man  of  business— a  certain  aptitude  for  commercial  affairs, 
a  desire  for  work,  the  love  of  order  and  economy,  the  spirit  of  enterprise,  clear- 
ness of  judgment  and  uprightness.  He  would  acquire  a  certain  amount  of  informa- 
tion and  a  habit  of  observation  and  reflection  upon  what  he  experienced  in  busi- 
ness that  would  stand  him  in  good  stead  through  all  his  subsequent  life. 

He  would,  in  short,  have  a  good  preparation  to  begin  to  learn  his  business,  and 
the  advantages  of  his  early  training  would  show  themselves  more  and  more  clearly 
as  time  went  on. 


217 


appcttDir  d. 


THE   FREE   LECTURE    SYSTEM    OF   NEW    YORK   CITY. 

The  movement  for  free  evening  lectures  in  the  public  schools  of  New  York  was 
inaugurated  some  ten  years  ago.  The  suggestion  had  been  made  that  lectures  on 
scientific  and  historical  subjects  would  prove  very  beneficial  to  a  large  class  in  the 
community.  A  bill  was  accordingly  introduced  into  the  legislature  and  was 
approved  by  the  governor  on  June  9,  1888,  authorizing  the  board  of  education  to 
employ  competent  lecturers  to  deliver  evening  lectures  on  the  natural  sciences  and 
kindred  subjects,  to  provide  necessary  books,  stationery,  charts  and  other  equip- 
ment, and  to  arrange  for  free  lectures  in  at  least  one  school  in  each  ward  of  the 
city.  This  act  was  twice  amended  to  give  the  board  the  power  of  free  advertising 
and  of  locating  the  lectures,  if  necessary,  in  other  than  school  buildings.  Fifteen 
thousand  dollars  were  appropriated  for  the  first  year,  and  between  January  and 
April,  1889,  186  lectures  were  given  in  six  school  houses  to  a  total  attendance  of  22,149, 
an  average  of  115  at  each  lecture.  From  October,  1889,  to  April,  1890,  339  lectures 
were  given  in  seven  schoolhouses  to  a  total  attendance  of  26,632,  an  average  of 
81  at  each  lecture.  The  experience  of  the  second  season  showed  the  neces- 
sity of  more  adequate  supervision,  and  Dr.  Henry  M.  Leipziger  was  appointed 
special  superintendent  for  this  work.  A  new  system  of  administration  was  adopted, 
the  corps  of  lecturers  was  changed,  the  use  of  the  stereopticon  was  introduced,  and 
special  efforts  were  directed  to  announcing  and  explaining  the  lectures.  The  result 
was  an  increase  during  1890-91  of  over  50,000  in  attendance  as  compared  with  the 
previous  year.  Since  then  the  growth  has  been  constant.  In  1897-98.  1,597  lectures 
were  delivered  at  forty-one  different  places  to  a  total  attendance  of  509,571. 

Mr.  Leipsiger  says  very  truly,  (!)  however,  that  "these  figures  do  not  convey 
the  real  significance  of  the  movement.  The  continuity  of  interest  is  the  most  satis- 
fying sign.  The  demand  for  the  lectures,  the  many  expressions  of  pleasure  and  of 
benefit  derived,  all  indicate  that  this  scheme  for  adult  education  has  come  to  stay. 
Eight  years  ago  185  lectures  were  given  in  six  places ;  about  25,000  was  the  total 
attendance.  Now  forty  places,  and  an  attendance  of  half  a  million.  Has  not  an 
intellectual  appetite  been  created,  and,  like  other  appetites,  does  it  not  grow  by  what 
it  feeds  on?  *  *  *  How  could  it  be  otherwise,  if  we  survey  what  has  been 
presented  to  these  half  a  million  of  learners  by  200  teachers?  Every  realm  of  human 
knowledge  is  represented.  My  aim  has  been  to  get  the  best  information  possible 
and  to  present  it  in  popular  form,  so  that  the  truth  may  reach  the  largest  numbers. 

"The  subjects  during  the  past  winter  have  all  been  arranged  in  courses  of  from 
four  to  ten  each.     Let  me  just  name  a  few  of  these  courses: 

(')  Address  at  the  Eighth  Annual  Reunion  of  Lecturers  in  the  Free  Lecture  Course  in  New  York 
City,  May  30, 1898. 

218 


"Six  lectures  on  'Electricity'  have  been  repeated  seven  times. 

"Six  lectures  on  'Geography  of  the  United  States'  have  been  repeated  twenty- 
seven  times. 

"Six  lectures  on  'American  History.'  including  'Representative  Americans'  and 
'National  Government,'  have  been  repeated  twenty-six  times. 

"Six  lectures  on  'Literature'  have  been  repeated  nineteen  times. 

"Six  lectures  on  'Astronomy'  have  been  repeated  seven  times. 

"Six  lectures  on  'The  Human  Body'  have  been  repeated  ten  times. 

"Five  lectures  on  'First  Aid  to  the  Injured'  have  been  repeated  four  times. 

"Ten  lectures  on  'History  of  Civilization'  have  been  repeated  once. 

"Six  lectures  on  'Music'  have  been  repeated  twelve  times. 

"Six  lectures  on  'History  of  New  York  City'  have  been  repeated  seven  times. 

"Six  lectures  on  'Municipal  Government  of  New  York'  have  been  repeated  four 
times. 

"Five  lectures  on  'Descriptive  Geography'  have  been  repeated  twenty-five  times. 

"With  all  the  courses  of  lectures  a  syllabus  containing  a  selected  bibliography 
was  distributed,  and  at  many  of  the  courses,  particularly  on  historical  and  socio- 
logical subjects,  a  discussion  between  the  audience  and  the  lecturer  continued, 
lasting  frequently  until  the  janitor  reluctantly  reminded  the  lecturer  of  the  flight 
of  time.  With  the  course  of  lectures  on  'First  Aid  to  the  Injured'  a  medical 
handbook  was  distributed,  and  at  the  close  of  the  course  an  examination  was  held 
and  certificates  issued  to  those  who  passed  it  creditably.  These  facts  are  told  to 
bring  more  clearly  before  you  the  truth  that  the  chief  purpose  of  the  lecture  course 
is  education.  And  I  therefore  say  that,  considering  the  serious  nature  of  the  sub- 
jects treated,  that  the  result  of  the  course  just  closing  is  most  gratifying.  It  has 
proven  that  the  people  are  awakening  to  the  fact  that  education  is  a  continuous 
performance,  that  the  school  gives  but  the  alphabet,  that  the  words  must  be  formed 
during  life. 

"One  further  feature  of  last  season's  work,  just  begun,  deserves  more  than  a 
passing  notice.  The  experiment  has  been  made  of  bringing  the  library  into  close 
connection  with  the  lectures.  Books  relating  to  the  topics  treated  at  the  various 
lectures  were  borrowed  from  the  free  circulating  libraries  and  lent  to  such  of  the 
auditors  as  desired  to  continue  their  reading.  Never  were  there  enough  books  to 
satisfy  the  demand,  and  while  the  books  were  given  without  any  of  the  customary 
safeguards  used  by  libraries,  all  the  books  have  been  safely  returned. 

"The  fact  has  been  established  that  the  people  will  come — that  the  nation  will 
go  to  school.  During  the  coming  year  I  shall  suggest  to  our  committee  the  wisdom 
of  establishing  two  kinds  of  lectures,  one  for  larger  audiences,  where  subjects  that 
appeal  to  large  bodies  will  be  treated,  and  at  the  other,  more  special  in  their  nature, 
and  where  those  only  will  come  who  are  interested  in  that  particular  subject;  that 
the  entire  winter  at  any  particular  center  be  devoted  to  but  one  or  two  subjects,  and 
that  definite  course  of  reading  or  study  be  followed.  I  am  sure  that  by  this  time 
we  have  prepared  some  such  body  of  students.  The  division  that  I  have  suggested 
will  satisfy  those  who  are  already  prepared  for  higher  study  and  those  who  are 
just  entering  on  the  appreciation  of  the  delights  of  intellectual  pleasure.  For — 
believing,  as  I  do,  in  the  educational  purpose  and  value  of  these  lectures — I  also 
believe,  to  an  extent,  in  their  wisdom  from  the  recreative  side.     The  character  of 

219 


"      OF  THJS 

I  VZRSITY 


our  pleasure  is  an  index  of  our  culture  and  our  civilization.  A  nation  whose  favorite 
pastime  is  the  bull  fight  is  hardly  on  a  plane  with  one  that  finds  pleasure  in  the 
lyceum  lecture.  So  if  we  can  make  the  pleasure  of  our  people  consist  in  the  delights 
of  art,  in  the  beauties  of  literature,  in  the  pursuit  of  science  or  the  sweet  influence 
of  music,  and  gradually  turn  them  away  from  so  much  that  is  lowering  in  our 
midst,  are  we  not  doing  a  real  public  service,  and  is  not  this  theory  the  real  founda- 
tion on  which  the  support  of  the  free  public  library  rests?  Is  not  refinement,  too, 
one  of  the  ends  for  which  we  are  aiming,  not  alone  knowledge,  but  culture,  not 
alone  light,  but  sweetness,  and  if  we  can  turn  our  youth  from  the  street  corner 
to  the  school  playground,  transformed  into  a  temple  of  learning,  are  we  not  helping 
to  that  end? 

"One  thing  can  positively  be  said  as  a  result  of  this  lecture  movement — for  it 
is  a  movement,  since  it  is  full  of  life — that  there  is  a  constantly  growing  element 
in  this  New  York  of  ours  that  is  looking  for  intellectual  and  spiritual  guidance,  who 
welcome  the  knowledge  of  the  scientist,  are  moved  by  the  skill  of  the  artist,  are 
touched  by  the  words  of  the  orator  and  inspired  by  all  to  loftier  lives.  And  it 
seems  to  me  that  men  who  spend  their  lives  in  accumulating  knowledge,  in  adding 
to  the  world's  treasury  of  wisdom,  should  find  the  greatest  light  in  its  dissimulation. 

"It  has  given  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  receive  letters  from  university  pro- 
fessors who  looked  at  the  beginning  with  some  slight  scorn  in  the  attempt  to  popu- 
larize knowledge,  in  which  they  now  admit  their  change  of  view.  They  certainly 
have  carried  out  the  advice  of  one  of  the  speakers  at  a  certain  college  dinner  to  some 
professors,  'that  they  should  rise  superior  to  their  own  superiority.' 

"The  scholar  owes  his  highest  duty  to  the  state.  It  is  his  duty  to  do  what  he 
can  to  raise  the  moral  tone  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives,  to  be  of  it,  not , 
above  it ;  not  to  be  lost  in  the  mass,  but  to  help  leaven  it.  And  never  was  that 
duty  more  demanded  than  in  a  great  democracy,  for  our  republic  is  still  on  trial. 
Nobly  is  it  weathering  the  gales  that  beset  it,  for  the  popular  conscience  has  always 
responded  to  the  right.  So  I  say  the  highest  duty  that  our  scholars  can  perform  is 
to  bring  their  knowledge  and  raise  the  average.  We  have  faith  in  democracy,  and 
we  believe  that,  through  popular  education,  as  Mr.  Larned  says,  'the  knowledge 
of  the  learned,  the  wisdom  of  the  thoughtful  and  the  conscience  of  the  upright  will 
some  day  be  common  enough  to  prevail  over  every  fractious  folly  and  every  mis- 
chievous movement  that  evil  minds  or  ignorance  can  set  astir.'  " 


^ppcnttr  e. 

VACATION    SCHOOLS   AND   PLAYGROUNDS. 

Vacation  schools  have  come  from  a  recognition  of  the  necessity  of  providing 
in  large  cities  some  pleasant  and  profitable  occupation  during  the  summer  for  chil- 
dren of  school  age.  Men  and  women  interested  in  social  questions  have  been 
the  first  to  comprehend  this,  and  so  far  it  has  been  solved  rather  by  the  efforts 
of  private  individuals  and  associations  than  by  the  official  action  of  boards  of 
education,  although  responsibility  in  this  matter  must  rest  ultimately  on  these  bodies. 
The  first  vacation  school  was  established  in  Boston  in  1885,  and  since  then,  as  Miss 
American  has  pointed  outC1)  vacation  schools  have  been  organized  in  New  York, 
Chicago,  Cambridge,  Cleveland,  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  Indianapolis  and  New- 
Haven. 

In  New  York  City  the  Association  for  the  Improvement  of  the  Poor  secured 
in  1894  the  use  of  four  public  school  buildings  and  held  summer  sessions  at  a  cost 
of  $5,000.  The  results  accomplished  by  this  association  during  the  next  four  years 
led  the  board  of  education  to  adopt  vacation  schools  as  a  part  of  the  public  school 
system,  and  to  appropriate  $10,000  for  the  maintenance  of  ten  schools  during  the 
summer  of  1898.  On  the  request  of  the  Civic  Club,  the  Philadelphia  Board  of 
Education  opened  three  vacation  schools  in  1898,  equipped  them  admirably  and 
secured  the  best  available  teachers.  Nature  study  and  manual  training  were  made 
the  basis  of  the  curriculum,  but  the  work  in  each  school  was  wisely  left  to  the 
individual  principals. 

The  first  vacation  school  in  Chicago  was  opened  in  the  Joseph  Medill  School 
by  the  educational  committee  of  the  Civic  Federation  in  1896.  Various  forms  of 
manual  training  work  were  included  in  the  morning  session,  and  weekly  excursions 
for  the  pupils  were  also  made  possible  through  the  generosity  of  the  Chicago  Record. 
The  school  accommodated  only  360  children,  but  over  4,000  applied  for  admission. 
A  similar  school  was  conducted  in  1897  by  the  settlement  of  the  University  of 
Chicago  under  the  management  of  Miss  Mary  McDowell.  The  experiments  of 
these  two  years  showed  a  wide  demand  for  vacation  schools,  and  were  so  fruitful 
in  good  results  that  the  Chicago  Women's  Club  undertook  this  work  in  December, 
1897.  A  vacation  school  committee  was  appointed,  which  obtained  the  aid  of  forty- 
three  city  and  suburban  women's  clubs.  Through  the  efforts  of  a  joint  committee 
a  fund  of  $9,600  was  raised  for  vacation  schools.  Five  schools  were  opened  on 
July   5    with   2,000   pupils,    while   6,000   applied    for   admission.     The   average   daily 

(')  See  "The  Movement  for  Vacation  Schools"  by  Sadie  American,  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Sociology,  November,  1898,  an  I  "  Vacation  Schools  "  by  Richard  Waterman,  jr.,  in  N.E.A.  Proceedings. 
1S98,  p.,  404. 


attendance  was  1887,  and  the  average  cost  per  child  for  instruction  was  $2.34  for 
six  weeks  and  78  cents  per  capita  for  the  weekly  excursions.  (2) 

The  five  schools  opened  in  Chicago  were  placed  in  the  sections  where  the  great- 
est need  of  vacation  schools  was  apparent,  namelv.  in  the  tenement  districts,  largely 
inhabited  by  families  of  foreign  birth  or  descent.  Of  the  enrollment  in  the  schools 
20  per  cent  was  Italian,  18  per  cent  Jewish,  18  per  cent  German,  12  per  cent  Irish, 
11  per  cent  Swedish,  6  per  cent  American,  2  per  cent  Polish  and  1  per  cent  colored.  (3) 
Excellent  results  were  accomplished  in  nature  study  and  manual  training,  while 
the  weekly  excursions  proved  a  most  valuable  part  of  the  work.  In  a  word,  the 
experience  of  1898  may  be  reckoned  conclusive  proof  of  the  value  to  Chicago  of 
vacation  schools,  and  should  be  sufficient  evidence  to  the  board  of  education  of  the 
advisability  of  incorporating  as  soon  as  possible  these  schools  in  the  public  system. 

Recent  experiments  and  investigation  have  showed  the  need  also  of  small  play- 
grounds.^) In  several  cities  school  yards  have  been  opened  under  private  man- 
agement during  summer  months.  The  Massachusetts  Emergency  and  Hygienic 
Association  has  maintained  playgrounds  in  Boston  for  ten  years,  especially  for 
young  children.  Each  yard  was  well  equipped  for  various  kinds  of  kindergarten 
work  and  was  under  the  charge  of  a  regular  instructor.  Providence,  Philadelphia 
and  Baltimore  have  followed  the  example  of  Boston.  In  Philadelphia  one  play- 
ground supported  by  Hull  House,  and  since  1896  a  well-equipped  playground,  opened 
education  granted  the  use  of  four  school  yards,  for  the  maintenance  of  which  the 
city  council  appropriated  $1,000.  Each  yard  was  in  charge  of  the  janitor  of  the 
school  and  of  a  kindergartner.  Chicago  has  had  for  five  years  an  excellent  play- 
grounds supported  by  Hull  House,  and  since  1896  a  well-equipped  playground,  opened 
by  the  settlement  of  the  Northwestern  University.  In  1898  the  city  council  made  an 
appropriation  of  $1,000,  which  was  expended  by  the  vacation  school  committee  of  the 
women's  clubs  in  maintaining  playgrounds  in  the  yards  of  six  school  buildings. 
An  additional  contribution  of  $750  by  private  parties  helped  to  secure  efficient 
supervision  by  a  kindergartner  for  the  younger  children  and  by  a  young  man  for 
the  charge  of  the  older  boys.  In  the  matter  of  playgrounds,  (5)  as  in  the  case  of 
vacation  schools,  the  results  accomplished  in  the  summer  of  1898  were  such  as  to 
justify  prompt  action  by  the  board  of  education  in  opening  all  school  yards,  at  least 
in  the  crowded  districts,  for  free  use  as  playgrounds  on  Saturdays  during  the  school 
year  and  on  every  day  through  the  summer  months. 

(2)  See  Report  of  the  Chicago  Vacation  School  Committee  of  Women's  Clubs,  1898. 

C3)  See  "  Chicago  Vacation  Schools"  by  O.  J.  Milliken,  Vacation  School  Superintendent  in  the  Amer- 
ican Journal  of  Sociology ,  November,  1898. 

(*)  See  "The  Movement  for  Small  Playgrounds"  by  Sadie  American,  in  the  American  Journal  0/ 
Sociology,  September,  1898. 

(B)  See  "  Municipal  Playgrounds  in  Chicago"  by  Charles  Zueblinin  the  American  Journal  of  Soci 
ology,  September,  1898. 


COMPULSORY   ATTENDANCE   LAWS. 

The  history  of  school  legislation  in  the  United  States  has  no  more  interesting 
chapter  than  that  which  treats  of  the  growing  sentiment  of  the  American  public  in 
favor  of  compulsory  attendance  and  of  the  various  attempts  which  have  been  made 
to  secure  effective  laws.  Proper  legislation  has  not  been  easily  secured,  and  even 
now  changes  are  being  constantly  made  which  look  to  a  widening  of  the  scope  of 
these  laws  and  to  an  increase  in  ease  and  thoroughness  in  their  enforcement. 
Massachusetts  has  taken  and  held  a  leading  position  in  this,  as  in  many  other 
phases  of  school  administration.  New  York  has  revised  again  and  again  her  laws 
on  this  point,  and  now,  in  common  with  several  other  states,  has  provisions  which 
seem  at  once  fair  to  all  classes  in  the  community  and  readily  and  efficiently  enforced. 

While  there  is  a  general  similarity  in  attendance  laws,  the  school  acts  of  differ- 
ent states  vary  considerably  in  details.  Illinois  makes  the  compulsory  school  age 
from  seven  to  fourteen,  and  requires  an  attendance  for  at  least  sixteen  weeks, 
twelve  weeks  to  be  consecutive.  Pennsylvania  has  ordered  the  attendance  of  every 
child  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  sixteen  years,  during  at  least  70  per  cent  of 
the  time  in  which  schools  in  the  respective  districts  are  in  session.  In  Connecticut 
the  compulsory  school  age  is  from  eight  to  sixteen,  and  the  law  reads  that  every 
child  shall  attend  during  the  entire  session  of  the  school  in  his  district.  New 
York  makes  a  similar  provision,  while  Massachusetts  insists  on  an  attendance  of 
thirty-two  weeks  for  every  child  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  fourteen. 

Almost  as  much  variation  is  found  in  different  states  in  the  exceptions  which 
are  made  in  favor  of  poor  families,  which  need  the  earnings  of  children  within  the 
school  age.  Pennsylvania  provides  that  the  compulsory  education  act  shall  not 
apply  to  any  child  between  the  ages  of  thirteen  and  sixteen  years,  who  is  regularly 
engaged  in  any  useful  employment  or  service.  New  York  limits  compulsory  attend- 
ance to  eighty  days  each  year  for  children  between  twelve  and  fourteen  years  of 
age,  who  are  "regularly  and  lawfully  engaged  in  useful  employment  or  service." 
and  frees  all  children  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  sixteen,  who  are  similarly 
employed.  In  Connecticut  children  over  fourteen  years  of  age  are  not  subject  to 
compulsory  attendance  while  lawfully  employed.  No  child  under  fourteen  can 
be  employed  lawfully  in  any  mechanical,  mercantile  or  manufacturing  establish- 
ment, and  no  child  under  fourteen  who  has  resided  in  the  United  States  nine 
months  can  be  lawfully  employed  in  any  work  unless  he  has  attended  school  at 
least  twelve  weeks  of  the  preceding  twelve  months,  and  six  weeks  of  this  attend- 
ance must  have  been  consecutive.  Massachusetts  makes  no  exceptions  in  its 
compulsory  attendance  law  for  children  between  seven  and  fourteen  years  of  age, 


and  requires  further  that  no  child  under  sixteen  years  of  age  shall  be  employed  in 
any  factory,  workshop  or  mercantile  establishment  unless  he  can  read  at  sight 
and  can  write  legibly  simple  sentences  in  the  English  language,  or  is  regularly 
attending  a  public  evening  school. 

Various  methods  are  employed  in  different  states  to  secure  the  enforcement  of 
compulsory  education  acts.  Illinois  provides  for  the  appointment  of  truant  officers 
to  report  all  violations  under  the  law,  and  fixes  a  fine  of  not  less  than  one  or 
more  than  five  dollars  for  all  willful  neglect  on  the  part  of  any  parent  or  guardian 
to  secure  the  attendance  of  a  child  and  a  fine  of  not  less  than  three  or  more  than 
twenty  dollars  for  every  willfully  false  statement  concerning  the  age  of  a  child  or 
the  time  he  has  attended  school.  Pennsylvania  makes  the  fine  not  to  exceed  two 
dollars  for  the  first  conviction  and  not  to  exceed  five  dollars  for  each  subsequent 
conviction,  and  requires  the  school  board  of  cities  and  permits  the  school  boards 
of  boroughs  and  townships  to  employ  one  or  more  attendance  officers.  Connecticut 
fixes  a  similar  fine  at  not  to  exceed  five  dollars  for  each  week's  failure  on  the  part 
of  any  person  to  comply  with  the  school  attendance  law,  and  orders  every  town  to 
appoint  three  or  more  truant  officers  to  enforce  attendance.  The  law  further  orders 
the  police  to  arrest  all  boys  between  eight  and  sixteen  who  are  habitual  truants 
during  the  usual  school  hours  of  the  school  terms,  and  permits  them  to  question 
any  boy  under  sixteen  years  of  age  during  such  hours  and  if  he  be  a  truant  from 
school  orders  them  to  send  him  to  such  school.  New  York  makes  a  violation  of 
the  compulsory  act  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  for  the  first  offense  by  a  fine  not 
exceeding  five  dollars,  and  for  each  subsequent  offense  by  a  fine  not  exceeding 
fifty  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  not  exceeding  thirty  days  or  by  both  such  fine 
and  imprisonment.  But  the  penalty  for  violation  may  be  avoided  by  the  parent 
or  guardian  giving  notice  to  the  school  authorities  of  his  inability  to  secure  the 
attendance  of  the  child.  In  such  case  recourse  is  had  to  the  truant  school  act. 
The  penalty  in  Massachusetts  is  a  fine  of  not  more  than  twenty  dollars,  to  which 
any  person  is  liable  having  under  his  control  a  child  between  seven  and  fourteen 
years  of  age,  who  fails  for  five  day  sessions  or  ten  half-day  sessions  within  any 
period  of  six  months  to  cause  such  child  to  attend  school. 

The  school  attendance  laws  of  these  typical  states  seem  to  contain  in  varying  pro- 
portions the  essentials  of  proper  legislation  on  this  point.  It  is  common  experience, 
however,  that  the  penalties  and  the  other  means  of  enforcement  are  inadequate  to 
secure  the  proper  results  unless  provision  is  made  also  for  truant  schools  which  are 
described  in  the  following  appendix. 


224 


appeuMr  g. 

PARENTAL  SCHOOLS. 

Permissive  or  compulsory  acts  looking  to  the  establishment  of  truant  or  parental 
schools  have  been  passed  by  a  number  of  states.  Pennsylvania  has  enacted  that 
"boards  of  directors  or  controllers  of  any  school  district,  or  of  two  or  more  districts, 
may  establish  special  schools  for  children  who  are  habitual  truants  or  who  are  insub- 
ordinate or  disorderly  during  their  attendance  upon  instruction  in  the  public  schools, 
and  may  provide  for  the  proper  care,  maintenance  and  instruction  of  such  children 
in  such  schools."  The  child  may  be  sent  directly  to  the  school  with  the  consent  of 
the  parent  or  guardian,  but  otherwise  only  after  conviction  before  a  proper  magis- 
trate. The  sentence  is  for  a  period  not  exceeding  the  remainder  of  the  school  term 
in  the  respective  district,  and  the  child  is  subject  to  parole  for  good  conduct  by  the 
authorities  of  the  school  after  four  weeks'  attendance.  Pennsylvania  further  per- 
mits the  school  directors  of  any  district  not  having  a  parental  school  to  contract 
with  any  other  district  for  the  care  of  truant  or  disorderly  children.  Practically  the 
same  provisions  are  made  by  the  state  of  New  York  with  an  additional  require- 
ment that  industrial  training  be  furnished  in  every  truant  school. 

Massachusetts  has  in  general  the  most  adequate  compulsory  education  law,  and 
enforces  this  in  part  by  the  compulsory  establishment  by  each  county,  with  three 
or  four  exceptions,  of  a  county  truant  school,  the  parental  school  of  Boston  being 
reckoned  the  county  school  for  Suffolk.  The  state  provides  further  that  two  or 
more  committees  may  for  the  purpose  of  economy  unite  in  the  support  of  a  union 
truant  school  which  must  in  no  case  be  at  or  near  a  penal  institution.  The  term  of 
sentence  is  for  a  period  not  exceeding  two  years,  and  the  county  commissioners 
may,  with  the  approval  of  the  justice  who  imposed  the  sentence,  discharge  or  after 
notice  to  the  school  authorities  parole  a  child,  and  a  special  provision  is  made  for 
the  temporary  release  of  a  child  in  case  of  death  or  serious  illness  in  his  immediate 
family.  The  courts  are  given  considerable  latitude  in  the  enforcement  of  the  truant 
act.  A  magistrate,  for  example,  may  make  such  order  as  he  deems  expedient  con- 
cerning the  payment  by  the  parent  of  the  cost  of  the  support  of  any  child  while  in 
the  county  school ;  may  place  a  child,  after  conviction,  not  in  a  truant  school,  but 
under  the  oversight  of  a  truant  officer  for  such  a  period  and  upon  such  conditions 
as  he  may  deem  best.  If  the  child  violates  the  conditions  of  his  probation  the  truant 
officer  may,  without  warrant  or  other  process,  take  the  child  before  the  court  for 
another  disposition  of  the  case.  If  the  children  in  the  truant  schools  persistently 
violate  the  regulations  of  the  school,  they  may,  upon  complaint  by  the  county  com- 
missioners and  after  conviction  in  each  case,  be  committed  by  the  court  to  state 
reformatories.     Minor   provisions   of  the   Massachusetts   law   are   also   interesting. 


Any  person  who  is  convicted  of  inducing  or  attempting  to  induce  any  child  to  absent 
himself  unlawfully  from  school,  or  who  employs  or  harbors  while  school  is  in  session 
any  child  absent  unlawfully  from  school  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  not  more  than  fifty 
dollars.  Truant  cases  may  be  brought  before  any  magistrate,  in  the  first  instance 
by  a  summons  or  if  that  is  not  answered,  or  if  it  seems  likely  that  it  will  not  be 
answered,  by  a  warrant,  to  be  served  by  the  truant  officer  or  by  any  officer  empowered 
to  serve  criminal  processes.  Truant  officers  do  not  receive  fees  for  their  services. 
They  are  empowered  to  make  complaints,  serve  legal  processes  and  carry  into  execu- 
tion judgments  under  the  compulsory  attendance  law. 

A  review  and  comparison  of  truant  schools  show  certain  principles  and  pro- 
visions which  have  led  to  the  most  satisfactory  results. 

(i)  For  the  proper  enforcement  of  compulsory  school  attendance  acts,  the  estab- 
lishment of  truant  schools  should  be  sufficiently  general  as  to  make  their  influence  felt 
in  all  parts  of  the  state.  While  the  establishment  may  be  optional  with  the  counties 
or  with  the  boards  of  education  in  smaller  towns  and  cities,  it  should  be  compulsory 
in  large  cities.  Moreover,  every  community  which  is  without  a  truant  school  should 
have  the  privilege  and  should  be  required  to  contract  with  some  other  community 
possessing  a  truant  school  for  the  care  of  its  truants,  or  should  be  empowered  to 
unite  with  other  communities  in  the  establishment  of  a  school ; 

(2)  Commitment  to  a  truant  school  should  be  as  free  as  possible  from  all  stigma, 
and  children  convicted  of  penal  offenses  should  in  no  case  be  assigned  to  such  a 
school.  The  truant  school,  moreover,  should  not  be  located  at  or  near  any  penal 
institution; 

(3)  If  the  consent  of  the  parent  or  guardian  can  be  secured,  the  assignment  of 
the  child  to  a  parental  school  should  rest  with  the  board  of  education.  If  legal 
process  is  necessary,  a  summons  should  be  used  preferably  to  a  warrant,  and  as 
far  as  feasible,  the  case  should  come  before  one  court  or  one  kind  of  magistrate  in 
order  to  secure  uniformity  of  judgment,  and  truant  cases  should  be  heard  at  a 
special  time  in  a  court  room  cleared  for  this  purpose ; 

(4)  Sentence  to  the  truant  school  should  be  for  an  indeterminate  period  up  to 
the  limit  of  school  age  with  a  privilege  of  parole  or  discharge  after  four  weeks,  each 
case  to  be  judged  by  the  authorities  of  the  school,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
superintendent  in  cities  and  of  the  school  authorities  in  smaller  communities ; 

(5)  The  truant  school  should  be  in  session  continuously,  for  to  release  the  boys 
during  the  summer  involves,  in  large  cities  at  least,  a  distinct  danger  of  deterioration ; 

(6)  Since  in  every  school  there  are  several  classes  of  boys  of  varying  degrees  of 
incorrigibility,  the  "cottage"  plan  of  housing  them  has  proved  an  advantage ;  this 
permits  the  ready  separation  of  boys  into  fairly  uniform  groups  and  thus  avoids  the 
danger  which  would  come  from  indiscriminate  association  of  the  older  boys  with  the 
younger  and  of  the  more  corrupt  boys  with  those  who  are  less  evilly  inclined ; 

(7)  A  truant  school  should  control,  if  possible,  sufficient  outlying  acreage  as  to 
give  opportunity  for  at  least  orchard  and  garden  work,  which  will  at  once  permit 
proper  out-of-door  exercise  and  reduce  the  expenses  of  the  school ; 

(8)  The  course  of  study  should  be  distinctly  different  from  that  of  the  public 
schools  and  should  emphasize  in  large  measure  hand-training.  Truant  and  incor- 
rigible boys  are  usually  quite  disinclined  to  purely  intellectual  work.  In  order  to 
win  them  over  to  serious  study  their  interest  must  be  aroused  from  another  side, 
and  for  this  purpose  manual  training  has  proved  of  great  value. 

226 


flppenDfr  h. 

SELF-GOVERNMENT  BY  PUPILS. 

The  problem  of  discipline  in  the  public  schools  has  been  greatly  simplified  accord- 
ing to  many  experienced  teachers  by  the  introduction  of  self-government  by  the 
pupils.  This  question  has  recently  come  to  the  front  to  a  remarkable  degree  among 
thoughtful  educators.  Chicago  offers  several  notable  examples  of  what  can  be 
accomplished  in  this  way,  not  only  in  facilitating  school  discipline,  but  also  in  giving 
practical  training  in  the  habit  of  good  citizenship. 

Among  the  secondary  schools,  the  Hyde  Park  High  School  has  developed,  on  the 
initiative  of  Principal  Charles  W.  French,  an  excellent  scheme  of  self-government 
through  the  organization  of  pupils.  In  the  John  Crerar  grammar  school,  the  prin- 
cipal, John  T.  Ray,  introduced  about  three  years  ago  a  similar  plan  which  has  been 
in  practical  operation  with  increasing  satisfaction  to  teachers,  to  pupils  and  to  parents. 
The  details  of  the  plan  may  be  seen  in  the  following : 

RULES    FOR    PUPIL    GOVERNMENT. 

Motto:     "Of  all— by  all— for  all." 

I.  On  the  first  Monday  of  each  school  month  a  girl  and  a  boy  tribune  shall  be 
elected  by  ballot  in  each  room  above  the  second  grade. 

II.  (a)  The  tribunes  are  the  official  spokesmen  of  the  room.  To  them  all  com- 
plaints or  reports  of  misconduct  shall  first  be  made  by  the  pupils,  and  from  them 
the  teacher  shall  first  seek  any  information  pertaining  to  order  or  discipline. 

(b)  The  tribune  shall  receive  all  complaints  and  investigate,  caution,  advise  and 
warn  pupils  as  to  their  conduct,  settling  disputes  and  protecting  the  rights  of  indi- 
viduals and  of  the  school  against  wrongdoers  if  possible. 

(c)  The  tribune  shall  report  misconduct  to  the  teacher  only  after  a  pupil  has 
been  cautioned.  The  teacher  shall  deprive  the  offender  of  privileges  until  he  goes 
to  the  tribune  and  makes  proper  pledges  of  future  right  conduct,  when  the  tribune 
will  ask  to  have  the  offender's  privileges  restored. 

III.  Pupils  are  expected  not  only  to  do  right  themselves,  but  to  assist  actively  in 
influencing  other  pupils  to  right  conduct  by  personal  influence  and  warning,  or  by 
reporting  misconduct  to  the  tribune  of  rooms  to  which  the  offender  belongs. 

IV.  (a)  Citizens  may  be  appointed  from  each  room  after  the  third  week  in  each 
term  to  the  number  of  one-half  or  more  of  the  membership.  Two-thirds  elected  by 
the  pupils  of  the  room  and  one-third  and  all  further  additions  by  the  teacher. 

(b)  Citizens  shall  be  elected  or  appointed  from  those  who  excel  in  personal 
good  conduct,  and  particularly  in  assisting  in  the  general  good  government  of  the 
school. 

227 


(c)  Citizens  are  to  be  accorded  all  possible  liberties  about  the  school,  the  same 
as  teachers.  They  are  expected  to  take  the  same  active  interest  at  all  times  in  the 
good  order  of  the  school  as  the  teachers.  They  may  enter  the  front  door  at  any 
time,  may  leave  the  room  when  necessary  and  may  sit  in  the  reading-room  before  or 
after  school. 

(d)  Citizens  shall  have  the  right  to  vote  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  general 
welfare  of  the  school,  and  from  their  number  shall  be  appointed  all  committees  of 
inquiry,  etc. 

V.  (a)  Tribunes  or  citizens  shall  be  removed  by  the  teacher  or  principal  at  any 
time  for  misconduct  or  lack  of  attention  to  tribune  or  citizen  duties. 

(b)  Teachers  may  appoint  additional  citizens  at  any  time  for  general  good  con- 
duct or  for  special  praiseworthy  acts. 

VI.  A  pin  may  be  worn  by  the  tribunes  and  the  citizens  to  show  their  rank, 
privileges  and  duties. 

"These  rules  were  not  written,"  says  Mr.  Ray,  "from  theory,  but  have  been 
evolved  through  three  years  of  careful  experimenting  by  the  principal  and  teachers 
of  the  John  Crerar  school.  When  the  plan  was  first  introduced,  the  pupils  were  led 
to  see  that  they  were  responsible  not  merely  for  their  individual  conduct,  but  equally 
for  the  general  good  conduct  and  welfare  of  the  school ;  that  a  wrong  done  by  any 
pupil  was  a  wrong  against  the  whole  school  community.  Thev  were  taught  that  the 
wrong  acts  of  individuals  should  be  corrected,  if  possible,  by  personal  influence  and 
counsel,  either  directly  or  through  the  proper  officer.  If  this  failed,  it  was  their  duty 
to  make  a  report  in  order  that  the  teacher  might  restrain  or  correct  the  disorderly 
or  dishonest  pupil. 

"All  surveillance  of  the  pupils  outside  of  the  schoolrooms,  1  the  stairs,  during 
the  recesses  and  on  the  playgrounds  was  entirely  removed.  The  pupils  were 
informed  that  right  conduct  and  observance  of  all  school  regulations  were  expected  of 
them  out  of  the  presence  as  well  as  in  the  presence  of  the  teachers.  Self-mastery  and 
active  assistance  in  influencing  those  unable  or  unwilling  to  control  themselves  prop- 
erly were  made  the  cardinal  virtues  of  good  citizenship  in  s-Jiool. 

"The  pupils  soon  responded  to  the  trust  put  in  them.  They  became  more  self- 
respecting  and  deferential,  and  began  to  take  a  pride  in  the  right  conduct  of  the 
school.  The  well-disposed  purils  asserted  themselves  and  exercised  a  good  influence 
over  the  careless  or  indifferent.  They  learned  to  settle  among  themselves  the  many 
little  irregularities  that  formerly  fell  to  the  teachers,  either  by  the  influence  of  the 
older  pupils  or  through  the  scnool  officers — the  tribunes  and  the  citizens.  Thus 
they  learned  the  lesson  that  every  democratic  community  must  learn,  namely,  the 
necessity  of  regulating  their  own  community  affairs.  They  discovered  the  import- 
ance of  choosing  competent  and  conscientious  officers  and  learned  also  that  the 
largest  liberties  can  be  gained  only  by  carefully  protecting  those  which  they  have, 
from  abuse,  since  most  restrictions  which  have  to  be  placed  in  a  school  or  a  com- 
munity come  from  the  abuse  of  liberty  by  the  few. 

"The  habit  of  self-control  and  of  active  participation  in  the  conduct  of  the  school 
community  became  fixed,  and  will  no  doubt  better  fit  the  child  for  the  more  important 
citizenship  of  adult  life.  The  practice  of  'tattling'  was  carefully  distinguished  from 
the  manly  exposure  of  wrongdoing  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  or  suppressing 
an  evil.     The  children  were  thus  educated  to  avoid  in  after  life  the  idle  gossip  that  is 


pernicious  or  the  greater  evil  of  being  indifferent  to  the  enforcement  of  law,  order 
and  good  conduct  in  the  community. 

"The  unanimous  opinion  of  the  teachers  participating  in  this  experiment  is  : 

"First,  That  there  has  been  a  marked  improvement  in  the  moral  tone  of  the  pupils  ; 

"Second,  That  the  government  of  the  school,  and  particularly  of  the  rooms,  is 
much  easier  than  by  the  old  method ; 

"Third,  That  this  plan  can  be  applied  as  satisfactorily  to  the  primary  as  to  the 
higher  grades,  and  makes  possible  the  teaching  of  practical  citizenship  to  all  children 
from  their  first  entrance  to  the  school ; 

"Fourth,  That  the  only  way  to  teach  citizenship  successfully  is  by  thus  combining 
the  practice  of  civic  duties  with  theoretic  instruction,  and  that  both  of  these  are  essen- 
tial elements  of  the  course  if  the  public  schools  are  to  fulfill  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  established." 

O  *P        p^-  «^i    in  colors  on  celluloid  and  are  enclosed  in 

^UOHNUJERAR^f    dasp  pjns  fcQ  be  worn  by  the  tribunes  and 

^J?cHOO\^        citiZens. 

8Y  AlA."x 


The  pins,  designed  by  Mr.  Ray  for  the 
.     John   Crerar   School   and  since  adopted  in 
.     other   schools,   are  represented   in   the   ac- 
cuts.     The  badges  are  printed 


itf'f'ty/i 


VGITIZEIN   f 

"3n  John  Crerar^ 

<5v  .,i-r 


^Y  AlV 


229 


appcntur  i. 


THE  LEGAL  STATUS  OF  THE  CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  question  of  the  legal  status  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of  Chicago, 
and  its  relations  to  the  municipal  government  of  said  city,  has  been  a  fruitful  source 
of  discussion  for  many  years  past,  and  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  has  existed  upon 
the  subject. 

It  has  been  claimed  on  the  one  hand  that  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of 
Chicago  and  the  City  of  Chicago  are  legally  distinct  bodies,  the  first  created  by 
the  general  school  law  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  the  latter  by  the  act  for  the 
incorporation  of  cities  and  villages.  On  the  other  hand,  the  contention  has  been 
that  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of  Chicago  is  now  a  mere  subordinate 
department  of  the  municipal  government,  exactly  as  was  the  case  when  the  City 
of  Chicago  was  governed  under  the  provisions  of  the  special  charter  of  1863. 

This  question  has  been  raised,  directly  and  indirectly,  in  sundry  cases  which  have 
been  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state,  and  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that 
the  question  is  still  unsettled,  and  can  be  determined  only  by  further  action  on  the 
part  of  the  legislative  department  or  subsequent  decisions  by  the  Supreme  Court,  it 
is  deemed  advisable  to  quote  briefly  from  a  few  recent  opinions  of  the  court,  bearing 
upon  the  subject. 

In  the  case  of  The  People  v.  Brenan,  et  at,  decided  on  December  26.  1898.  the 
board  of  education  contended  that  the  civil  service  law  had  no  application  to  its 
employes  for  the  reason  that  said  board  is  a  separate  and  distinct  quasi  public  corpo- 
ration, created  by  the  general  school  law  of  the  state,  and,  therefore,  could  not  be 
considered  a  mere  subordinate  department  of  the  city  government,  and  further  con- 
tended that  substantially  all  of  the  provisions  of  the  city  charter  of  1863,  relating  to 
the  management  of  schools,  had  been  repealed  by  the  general  school  law  of  1872 
and  subsequent  amendments  thereto.  The  appeal  was  prosecuted  by  the  board  of 
education  solely  for  the  purpose  of  endeavoring  to  obtain  from  the  Supreme  Court  a 
decision  which  would  finally  determine  the  legal  relations  existing  between  the  City 
of  Chicago  and  the  board  of  education. 

In  deciding  the  case  the  Supreme  Court  held  that  the  employes  of  the  board  of 
education  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  civil  service  commissioners,  except  so 
far  as  they  are  exempted  by  the  civil  service  act  itself,  but  declined  to  give  any 
opinion  which  would  determine  the  relations  between  the  board  of  education  and 
the  City  of  Chicago.  The  only  light  which  is  shed  by  the  opinion  upon  this  very 
important  question  is  the  following  language:  "After  a  careful  examination  and 
consideration  <>f  the  various  statutes  and  decisions  hearing  upon  the  question,  and  the 
arguments  of  counsel,  it  seems  dear  to  us  thai  tin-  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of 

230 


Chicago  is  still  connected  with,  dependent  upon,  and  to  some  extent  a  part  of,  the 
municipal  government  of  that  city,  and  as  such,  that  its  offices  and  places  of  employ- 
ment fall  within  the  operation  of  the  civil  service  act." 

In  the  case  of  Adams  v.  Brenan,  et  al,  also  decided  on  December  26,  1898,  the 
court  says  :  "The  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of  Chicago  is  a  public  corporation, 
created  by  the  legislative  authority  as  an  agent  of  the  state,  for  the  purpose  of 
maintaining  public  schools  and  school  buildings  within  that  subdivision  of  the  state. 
For  the  purposes  of  that  function  it  receives  from  the  tax  payers,  and  holds  as  trustee, 
the  school  fund,  and  is  bound  to  administer  it  for  the  beneficiaries  of  the  trust." 

In  the  case  of  Kinnare  v.  City  of  Chicago,  171  111.  332,  decided  February  14, 
1898,  the  same  being  an  action  brought  against  the  board  of  education  and  the  City 
of  Chicago  to  recover  damages  for  a  personal  injury,  the  court  held:  "It,  there- 
fore, appears  the  appellee,  (board  of  education)  is  a  corporation  or  quasi  corporation, 
created  nolens  volens  by  the  general  law  of  the  state  to  aid  in  the  administration  of 
the  state  government,  and  charged  as  such  with  duties  purely  governmental  in  char- 
acter. It  is  simply  an  agency  of  the  state,  having  existence  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
performing  certain  duties  deemed  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  an  'efficient 
system  of  free  schools'  within  the  particular  locality  in  its  jurisdiction." 

These  few  citations  of  authority  are  certainly  sufficient  to  show  that  the  legal 
status  of  the  board  of  education  has  not  yet  been  finally  and  irrevocably  determined 
by  the  decisions  of  the  court,  and  that,  as  above  stated,  the  question  will  probably 
remain  in  doubt  until  there  has  been  some  definite  legislation  upon  the  subject,  or  a 
further  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  a  case  where  this  question  is  solely  and 
directly  involved. 

In  view  of  the  uncertainty  which  exists  upon  this  subject,  it  has  been  deemed 
desirable  that  any  proposed  legislation,  emanating  from  the  recommendations  of  this 
commission,  should  contain  provisions  which,  as  far  as  possible,  will  settle  this 
question,  heretofore  productive  of  much  annoyance,  delay  and  inefficiency  in  the 
transaction  of  business  relating  to  the  public  school  system  of  the  city.     C1) 

Donald  L.  Morrtll. 

0)  See  Appendix  K,  "  A  Proposed  School  Law  for  Chicago,"  Section  20. 


23] 


£ppcnt)ir  J. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  REFERENCES  ON  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS. 

The  student  who  desires  to  investigate  the  history  and  the  present  condition  of 
city  school  systems  in  the  United  States  will  find  little  material  that  is  well-arranged, 
compact  and  easily  accessible.  No  serious  attempt  has  been  made  to  summarize  this 
subject  since  the  valuable  pamphlet  of  John  D.  Philbrick,  on  "City  School  Systems 
in  the  United  States"  was  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Education  in  1885.  There  is, 
however,  a  wealth  of  material  of  various  kinds.  First  of  all,  come  the  annual  reports 
of  the  various  superintendents  of  schools  and  the  reports  and  rules  of  city  boards  of 
education.  These  are  indispensible  in  any  adequate  study  of  municipal  education. 
The  reports  of  the  United  States  commissioner  of  education  include  much  that  is  valu- 
able on  various  sides  of  the  subject.  The  proceedings  of  the  National  Educational 
Association,  of  the  New  England  Institute  of  Education,  of  the  various  state  and 
interstate  associations  of  teachers,  both  in  the  elementary  and  the  secondary  schools 
and  in  colleges  and  universities,  repay  a  careful  review.  Much  that  is  valuable  can 
be  found  also  in  the  files  of  various  educational  journals  and  in  some  volumes  included 
in  the  International  Education  Series.  More  specifically  of  interest,  aside  from  Phil- 
brick's  pamphlet  already  mentioned,  is  the  report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifteen, 
of  the  National  Educational  Association,  on  the  training  of  teachers  and  the  organ- 
ization of  city  school  systems.  In  addition  to  the  articles  and  addresses  from  which 
quotations  have  been  made,  the  following  references  are  pertinent  to  the  general  scope 
of  this  report : 
"The  Relation  of  the  High  School  to  the  Higher  Education,"  by  William  J.  Tucker. 

in  Education,  June,  1898. 
"The  State  Normal  School  and  Its  Mission,  from  the  Standpoint  of  a  Superintendent 

of  Schools,"  by  Geo.  Ripley  Pinkham,  in  Education,  May.  1898. 
"Vacation  Schools,"  editorial  in  Indiana  School  Journal,  June,  1898. 
"How  Compulsory  Education  Fails,"  by  John  Gibson,  in  the  Educational  Review 

(London),  April,  1898. 
"Reform  in  School  Administration,"  by  Joseph  W.  Errant,  in  the  Public  School 

Journal,  September,  1897. 
"The  Organization  and  Administration  of  a  School,"  by  Hiram  Hadley,  in  the  Public 

School  Journal,  November,  1897. 
"Grading  and  Promotion  of  Pupils,"  by  John  T.   Prince,   in  Educational  Review, 

March,  1898. 
"A  Proposed  New  School  Law  for  Boston,"  editorial  in  Educational  Review,  March 

1898. 
"The  Best  Method  of  Examining  and  Certifying  Teachers,"  by  Henry  E.  Shepherd, 

in  Education,  February,  1881. 

232 


'The  Education  of  the  Public  with  Reference  to  Normal  Schools  and  Their  Work." 

by  Grace  C.  Bibb,  in  Education,  July,  1881. 
'Educational  Principles  of  the  Kindergarten,"  by  E.  Shirreff,  president  of  the  London 

Frocbel  Society,  in  Education,  May,  1881. 
'School  Supervision,"  by  N.  A.  Calkins,  in  Education,  May,  1882. 
'The  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Kindergarten,"  by  Elizabeth  P.  Peabody,  in  Educa 

tion,  May,  1882. 
'Manual  Education  in  Public  Schools,"  by  L.  H.  Marvel,  in  Education,  May,  1882. 
'The  High  School:     Its  Relation  to  the  Lower  Grades  of  Public  Schools,"  by  John 

Hancock,  in  Education,  November,  1882. 
'The  Relation  of  the  High   School   to   Business  Life:     With  the  True   Course  of 

Studies,"  by  William  Mowry,  in  Education,  November,  1882. 
•True  Place  of  a  Normal  School  in  the  Educational  System,"  by  D.  L.  Kiehle,  in 

Education,  March,  1883. 
'The  High  School ;  Its  Necessity  and  Right  to  Exist  as  a  Part  of  the  True  System  of 

Public  Education,"  by  J.  L.  Pickard,  in  Education,  November,  1882. 
'The  High  School :    Its  Relation  to  Schools  of  Technology,"  by  C.  O.  Thompson,  in 

Education,  November,  1882. 
'Compulsory  Education,"  by  Ben  Blewett,  in  Education,  September,  1883. 
'The  Examination  of  Teachers,"  by  Ely  Tappan,  in  Education,  November,  1883. 
'The  Function  of  the  Normal  School,"  by  E.  C.  Hewett,  in  Education,  January,  1884. 
'Manual  Training,"  by  C.  M.  Woodward,  in  Education,  January,  1884. 
'Manual  Labor  Training  in  the  Public  Schools,"  by  Charles  O.  Thompson,  in  Educa- 
tion, July.  1884. 
'Duties  of  School  Superintendents,"  by  John  T.  Prince,  in  Education,  March,  1884. 
"Normal  Schools :    Their  Necessity  and  Growth,"  by  Thomas  Hunter,  in  Education, 

January,  1885. 
'Manual  Training  in  General  Education,"  by  C.  M.  Woodward,  in  Education.  July, 

1885. 
"Intellectual  Training  in  the  School,"  by  E.  H.  Long,  in  Education,  January,  1885. 
"The  Normal  School  Problem,"  by  W.  H.  Payne,  in  Education,  March  1895. 
"The  Place  of  Manual  Training  in  the  General  Scheme  of  Education,"  by  May  Mack- 
intosh, in  Education,  November,  1886. 
"Industrial  Education  in  the  Public  School,"  by  John  W.  Dickinson,  in  Education, 

June,  1887. 
"Examinations  and  Promotions,"  by  Emerson  E.  White,  in  Education,  March,  1888. 
"The  Normal  School  in  the  United  States,"  by  A.  D.  Mayo,  in  Education,  December. 

1887. 
"The  Psychology  of  Manual  Training,"  by  William  T.  Harris,  in  Education,  May, 

1889. 
"Educational  Value  of  Manual  Training,"  by  George  P.  Brown,  in  Education.  Juno, 

1889. 
"The  Place  of  the  Public  High  School,"  by  C.  W.  Cabeen,  in  Education,  May.  1800. 


233 


appCttDtjC  K. 


A  PROPOSED  SCHOOL  LAW  FOR  CHICAGO. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "An  Act  to  Establish  and  Maintain  a  System  of 
Free  Schools,"  in  force  May  21,  1889,  by  repealing  sections  seventeen  (17)  to  twenty- 
eight  (28),  both  inclusive  of  article  VI.  of  said  act  and  by  adding  to  said  article  VI. 
nineteen  (19)  new  sections  to  be  numbered  respectively  from  seventeen  (17)  to 
thirty-five  (35). 

Be  It  Enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois  Represented   in    the  Genera! 
Assembly,  that 

An  act  entitled,  "An  act  to  Establish  and  Maintain  a  System  of  Free  Schools," 
in  force  May  21,  1889,  be  and  hereby  is  amended  by  repealing  sections  seventeen  (17) 
to  twenty-eight  (28),  both  inclusive  of  article  VI.  of  said  act  and  by  adding  to  said 
article  VI.  nineteen  (19)  new  sections  to  be  numbered  respectively  from  seventeen 
(17)  to  thirty-five  (35),  which  shall  read  as  follows,  to-wit : 

Section  17.  In  cities  having  a  population  exceeding  100,000  inhabitants,  from  and 
after  this  act  shall  take  effect,  there  shall  be  created  a  board  of  education,  which  shall 
consist  of  eleven  (11)  members,  to  be  known  as  trustees,  and  to  be  appointed  by  the 
mayor,  with  the  consent  of  the  city  council,  two  of  whom  shall  be  appointed  for  the 
term  of  one  year,  three  for  the  term  of  two  years,  three  for  the  term  of  three  years, 
and  three  for  the  term  of  four  years.  At  the  expiration  of  the  terms  of  any  member 
of  said  board  of  education  his  successor  shall  be  appointed  in  like  manner  and  mem- 
bers shall  hold  their  office  for  the  term  of  four  years  from  the  first  day  of  July  of  the 
year  in  which  they  are  appointed.  Any  vacancy  which  may  occur  in  the  membership 
of  said  board  of  education  shall  be  filled  through  appointment  by  the  mayor,  with 
the  approval  of  the  city  council,  for  the  unexpired  term.  If  any  person  so  appointed 
shall  fail  to  qualify  within  thirty  days  after  his  appointment,  the  office  shall  be  filled 
by  a  new  appointment  for  the  unexpired  term. 

Sec.  18.  Any  member  of  the  board  of  education  may  be  removed  by  the  mayor 
upon  proof  either  of  official  misconduct  in  office  or  of  neglect  of  official  duties  or  of 
misconduct  in  any  manner  connected  with  his  official  duties  or  otherwise  which  tends 
to  discredit  his  office  or  the  school  system ;  or  for  mental  or  physical  inability  to 
perform  his  duty  as  a  member,  but  before  such  removal  of  said  member,  he  shall 
receive  due  and  timely  notice  in  writing  of  the  charges  and  a  copy  thereof,  and  shall 
be  entitled  to  a  hearing  on  like  notice  before  the  mayor  and  to  the  assistance  of 
counsel  on  said  hearing. 

Sec.  19.  Any  person  twenty-one  years  of  age,  having  resided  in  such  city  five 
years  next  preceding  his  appointment,  shall  be  eligible  to  membership  on  such  board 
of  edm 

0    For   the  purpose  of  enabling  such  board   of  education   to  perform   the 
234 


duties  imposed  and  exercise  the  powers  granted  by  this  act,  the  board  of  education 
shall  be  and  is  hereby  declared  to  be  a  body  politic  and  corporate. 

Sec.  21.  The  title  to  all  property  real  and  personal  now  or  that  may  hereafter 
be  acquired  for  school  or  educational  purposes,  and  also  the  title  to  all  property 
real  and  personal  purchased  for  school  or  educational  purposes  with  any  school 
moneys  derived  from  any  source  whatever,  shall  be  vested  in  the  city  in  trust,  for 
the  use  of  schools  and  shall  be  at.  all  times  under  the  care  and  control  of  the  board 
of  education.  All  conveyances  of  real  estate  shall  be  made  to  the  city  in  trust  for 
the  use  of  schools  and  all  sales  of  real  estate  or  of  interest  therein  used  for  school 
purposes  or  held  in  trust  for  school  purposes  shall  be  made  at  the  discretion  of  the 
mayor  and  the  comptroller  of  the  city  upon  the  unanimous  request  of  such  board  of 
education.  The  city  shall  have  power  to  take  and  hold  in  trust  for  the  use  of  schools 
property,  real  or  personal,  devised,  bequeathed  or  transmitted  to  it  for  the  purposes  of 
education  in  said  city,  but  all  such  property  shall  be  under  the  care  and  control  of  said 
board  of  education.  The  board  of  education  shall  have  power  in  the  name  of  the  city 
and  for  said  city  to  dispose  of  such  personal  property  used  in  the  schools  or  other 
buildings  under  the  charge  of  said  board,  as  is  no  longer  required  for  use  therein, 
and  all  moneys  realized  by  the  sale  thereof  shall  be  paid  over  to  the  city  treasurer, 
and  be  deposited  or  held  by  him  to  the  credit  of  the  school  tax  fund. 

Sec.  22.  All  moneys  raised  by  taxation  for  school  purposes  or  received  from 
the  state  common  school  fund  or  from  any  other  source  whatever  for  school  purposes 
shall  be  held  by  the  city  treasurer,  who  is  hereby  constituted  the  treasurer  of  the 
board  of  education,  as  a  special  fund  for  school  purposes  only,  subject  to  the  order 
of  the  board  of  education  upon  warrants  to  be  countersigned  by  the  mayor  and  the 
comptroller,  and  no  power  given  to  the  board  of  education  shall  be  exercised  by  the 
city  council  of  the  city. 

Sec.  23.  Said  board  of  education  shall  not  add  to  the  expenditures  for  school 
purposes  anything  over  and  above  the  amount  that  shall  be  received  from  the  state 
common  school  fund,  the  rental  of  school  lands  or  property,  the  income  of  all  funds 
devoted  to  and  set  apart  for  school  purposes,  and  the  amount  annually  appropriated 
for  such  purposes.  If  said  board  shall  so  add  to  such  expenditures,  the  city  shall 
not  in  any  case  be  liable  therefor ;  and  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed 
so  as  to  authorize  any  such  board  of  education  to  levy  or  collect  any  tax  upon  the 
demand  or  under  the  direction  of  such  board  of  education. 

Sec.  24.  Said  board  of  education  shall  from  its  own  number  elect  a  president, 
and  shall  also  elect  a  secretary  of  the  board,  a  superintendent  of  schools,  a  business 
manager,  and  an  auditor,  and  shall  also  elect  such  other  officers  and  employes  as 
such  board  shall  deem  necessary,  and  shall  prescribe  their  respective  duties  and 
compensations  and  terms  of  office,  subject  to  the  conditions  hereinafter  contained. 

Sec.  25.  Said  board  of  education  shall  provide  well-bound  books,  at  the  expense 
ot  the  school  tax  fund,  in  which  shall  be  kept  the  faithful  record  of  all  its  proceedings. 
The  yeas  and  nays  shall  be  taken  and  entered  upon  records  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  board  upon  all  questions  involving  the  expenditure  of  money,  and  none  of  the 
powers  herein  conferred  upon  the  said  board  of  education  shall  be  exercised  except 
at  a  regular  meeting  of  said  board. 

Sec.  26.  Said  board  of  education  shall  have  the  entire  charge,  superintendence, 
and  control  of  the  public  schools  of  the  city,  and  shall  have  power,  and  it.  shall  be 
its  duty: 

235 


First — To  erect  or  purchase  buildings  suitable  for  school  houses  and  general 
school  purposes,  keep  the  same  in  repair,  and  protect  them  from  unnecessary 
deterioration  and  injury; 

Second — To  buy,  or  to  acquire  property  under  the  act  providing  for  the  exercise 
of  the  right  of  eminent  domain,  or  to  lease  property,  for  school  houses  or  school  pur- 
poses, with  the  necessary  grounds,  or  for  the  use  of  the  board  of  education  and  to  rent 
buildings  or  rooms  for  school  purposes  or  for  the  use  of  the  board  of  education ; 

Third — To  furnish  schools  with  the  necessary  fixtures,  furniture,  apparatus,  fuel 
and  such  other  supplies  as  in  its  judgment  shall  be  necessary  for  school  purposes; 

Fourth — To  maintain,  support  and  establish  schools,  and  supply  the  inadequacy  of 
the  school  fund  for  the  salaries  of  teachers  from  the  school  taxes ; 

Fifth — To  determine  from  time  to  time  how  many  and  what  classes  of  teachers 
are  needed  in  the  public  schools,  to  employ  teachers,  to  examine  and  determine  the 
qualifications  of  applicants  for  appointment  as  teachers,  to  issue  suitable  certificates 
to  all  persons  so  examined  and  found  qualified  to  serve  as  teachers  and  to  fix  the 
amount  of  the  compensation  of  teachers,  all,  however,  subject  to  the  provisions  here- 
inafter contained ; 

Sixth — To  prescribe  the  studies  in  the  different  schools  and  the  text-books  to 
be  used,  but  no  text-books  shall  be  used  except  upon  the  recommendation  of  the 
superintendent  of  schools  as  hereinafter  provided ; 

Seventh — To  lay  off  and  divide  the  city  into  school  districts  for  the  purposes  of 
supervision  and  inspection  as  hereinafter  provided,  and  from  time  to  time  to  alter 
the  same  and  to  create  new  ones,  as  circumstances  may  require ; 

Eighth — To  lease  school  property  for  a  period  not  longer  than  ninety-nine  (99) 
years  from  the  date  of  granting  any  lease  and  to  loan  moneys  belonging  to  the  school 
fund  and  to  collect  debts  due  to  the  school  fund  and  to  prosecute  in  its  own  name  all 
actions  at  law  and  equity  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  school  funds  and  school 
property ; 

Ninth — To  expel  any  pupil  who  may  be  guilty  of  gross  disobedience  or  miscon- 
duct and  to  dismiss  or  remove  any  teacher  whenever  in  its  opinion  he  or  she  is  not 
qualified  to  teach  or  whenever  from  any  cause  the  interests  of  the  school  may  in 
their  opinion  require  such  dismissal  or  removal,  subject  to  provisions  hereinafter 
contained. 

Tenth — To  enact  by-laws,  rules  and  regulations  for  the  proper  execution  of  all 
duties  imposed  upon  the  board,  its  members  and  committees ;  for  the  transaction  of 
all  business  pertaining  to  the  same,  for  defining  the  duties  of  all  school  officers,  for 
the  proper  execution  of  all  powers  vested  in  the  board  by  law  and  for  the  promotion 
of  the  best  interests  of  the  public  schools  and  the  public  school  system  committed  to 
its  care ; 

Eleventh — To  give  in  all  grades  of  the  public  school  system  such  a  specific  train- 
ing in  civics  as  will  inculcate  an  enlightened  sentiment  of  patriotism  through  a 
knowledge  of  the  various  forms  of  popular  government  and  of  the  duties  as  well  as 
the  rights  of  American  citizenship ; 

Twelfth — To  establish  an  efficient  system  of  civil  service  rules,  in  accordance 
with  which  all  appointments  and  promotions  and  dismissals  shall  be  made  in  con- 
nection with  positions  other  than  teaching  positions  in  the  service  of  the  board. 

Said  board  of  education  shall  further  have  power, 

First — To  establish   and   maintain   kindergartens   for  children   under   six  years 

236 


of  age,  manual  training,  commercial  and  other  high  schools,  normal  schools,  vacation 
schools  and  truant  schools  and  a  system  of  free  educational  lectures  for  adults : 

Second — To  establish  and  maintain  evening  schools  and  to  provide  special  classes 
in  such  schools  for  the  instruction  of  adult  pupils  and  pupils  whose  avocations  are 
such  as  to  prevent  their  attendance  upon  day  schools ; 

Sec  27.  The  president  of  the  board  shall  be  elected  annually  in  such  manner 
and  at  such  time  after  the  )'early  appointment  of  new  members  and  not  later  than  the 
second  regular  meeting  of  the  board  after  such  appointment,  as  the  board  may 
determine  by  its  rules  and  shall  preside  at  its  meetings,  and  shall  have  the  same 
power  to  vote  thereat  as  any  other  member,  but  shall  not  have  the  power  of 
veto;  he  shall  exercise  a  general  superintendency  over  the  affairs  of  the  board 
and  shall  perform  such  duties  as  may  be  imposed  upon  him  by  the  rules  of  the  board. 

Sec.  28.  The  secretary  of  the  board  shall  be  elected  annually,  at  the  same  time 
and  in  the  same  manner  as  provided  herein  for  the  election  of  the  president,  and 
shall  receive  such  salary  as  the  board  may  direct,  and  shall  be  required  to  give 
a  bond  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties  in  such  sum  as  the  board  shall 
from  time  to  time  determine.  He  shall  have  charge  of  the  rooms,  and  such  books, 
papers  and  documents  of  the  board  as  pertain  to  his  office,  and  shall,  in  addition  to 
his  duties  as  secretary  of  the  board,  perform  such  other  duties,  not  otherwise  provided 
for  herein,  as  may  be  required  by  the  board  or  by  its  committees.  The  secretary  of 
the  board  is  hereby  authorized  to  administer  oaths  and  take  affidavits  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  schools  of  the  city. 

Sec.  29.  The  superintendent  of  schools  shall  be  elected  for  a  term  of  six  years 
and  shall  be  paid  such  salary  as  the  board  shall  from  time  to  time  determine,  but 
this  salary  shall  not  be  reduced  during  his  term  of  office.  He  may  be  removed  by  a 
two-thirds  vote  of  all  the  members  of  the  board,  but  only  for  cause  upon  written 
charges.  He  shall  have  the  right  of  visitation  and  inquiry  in  all  of  the 
schools  of  the  city,  and  shall  report  to  the  board  of  education  on  the 
educational  system  of  the  city,  and  upon  the  condition  of  any  and  all 
of  the  schools  thereof.  He  shall  have  a  seat  in  the  board  of  education 
and  the  right  to  speak  on  all  educational  matters  before  the  board,  but  shall 
not  have  the  right  to  vote.  He  shall  also,  as  often  as  he  can  consistently  with  his 
other  duties,  visit  the  schools  of  the  city  and  inquire  into  the  method  of  instruc- 
tion, management  and  discipline.  He  shall  select  text-books  for  such  studies  as 
the  board  of  education  may  determine  shall  be  taught,  and  apparatus  for  such  pur- 
poses as  the  board  of  education  may  authorize,  and  his  determination  thereof  shall 
be  final  unless  disapproved  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  all  the  members  of  the  board  not 
later  than  the  second  meeting  after  the  report  is  made  thereto.  He  shall  have 
power  to  appoint  assistant  superintendents,  supervisors,  principals,  teachers  and 
attendance  officers  to  such  positions  as  the  board  of  education  shall  from  time  to 
time  authorize,  to  promote  teachers  and  fix  their  grade  in  the  salary  schedule  and 
dismiss  any  officer  or  teacher  so  appointed ;  provided,  however,  that  all  such  appoint- 
ments, promotions,  compensations  and  dismissals  shall  be  reported  to  the  board  and 
shall  stand  as  final  unless  disapproved  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  all  the  members 
thereof  not  later  than  the  second  meeting  after  the  report  is  made  thereto ;  pro- 
vided, further,  that  no  teacher  or  attendance  officer  shall  be  appointed  and  no 
teacher  be  promoted  until  after  examination  and  approval  by  an  examining  board 
hereinafter  provided   for;  and  provided,    further,  that   every  person  applying  for  a 

237 


position  as  teacher  when  approved  by  the  examining  board  shall  be  given  by  the 
superintendent  a  provisional  certificate  of  qualification  for  two  years,  which  after 
proof  of  success  for  this  period  shall  be  made  permanent ;  and  provided,  lastly,  that 
her  shall  be  considered  definitely  employed  during  good  service  and  on  good 
behavior  until  after  such  successful  probation  of  two  successive  years. 

Sec.  30.  The  business  manager  shall  be  elected  for  a  term  of  six  years  and  shall 
be  paid  such  salary  as  the  board  shall  from  time  to  time  determine,  but  this  salary 
shall  not  he  reduced  during  his  term  of  office;  he  shall  be  required  to  give  such  bond 
for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties,  as  the  board  may  determine.  He  may  be 
removed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  all  the  members  of  the  board,  but  only  for  cause  upon 
written  charges.  He  shall  have  supervision  over  the  business  affairs  of  the  board, 
and  under  its  supervision  shall  have  charge,  custody  and  control  of  all  securities  of 
the  board ;  shall  collect  rents  and  interest  and  fulfill  the  duties  in  general  of  financial 
agent  of  the  board.  He  shall,  subject  to  the  prior  approval  of  the  board,  appoint  the 
architect  or  architects  of  school  buildings,  and  advertise  and  award  the  contracts  for 
the  construction  and  repair  of  such  buildings  either  wholly  or  in  part  and  for  the 
purchase  of  all  supplies  required  for  the  board  and  schools  or  officers  and  employes 
of  the  board ;  provided,  that  he  may,  without  such  prior  approval,  expend  for  repairs 
and  supplies  a  sum  not  to  exceed  $200  in  each  case.  He  shall  exercise  a  careful  over- 
sight over  the  construction  of  all  school  buildings  and  over  all  repairs  on  such  build- 
ings. He  shall  have  the  appointment,  direction  and  discharge  and  shall  fix  the  com- 
pensation in  accordance  with  schedule  of  salaries  established  by  the  board,  of  the  jani- 
tors, engineers  and  other  persons  whom  he  shall  require  to  assist  him  in  the  business 
affairs  of  the  board;  provided,  that  all  such  appointments  shall  be  to  positions  which 
the  board  of  education  shall  have  authorized  and  that  all  such  appointments  and  dis- 
missals shall  be  in  accordance  with  the  civil  service  rules  established  by  the  board, 
and  shall  be  reported  to  the  board  at  its  next  regular  meeting  and  shall  stand  as  final 
unless  disapproved  by  a  majority  vote  of  all  the  members  thereof  not  later  than  the 
second  meeting  after  the  report  is  made  thereto.  He  shall  perform  all  other  executive 
duties  relating  to  the  details  of  the  business  affairs  of  the  board,  but  not  subject  to 
its  prior  approval,  and  report  such  acts,  together  with  a  statement  of  all  expenditures 
for  repairs  and  supplies  not  exceeding  the  sum  of  $200  in  each  case,  as  aforesaid,  to 
the  board  at  its  next  regular  meeting  and  said  acts  and  expenditures  shall  stand  as 
final  unless  disapproved  by  a  majority  vote  of  all  the  members  of  the  board  not  later 
than  the  second  meeting  after  the  report  is  made  thereto. 

Sec.  31.  A  board  of  examiners  shall  be  appointed  to  examine  by  written  and  oral 
tests  all  applicants  for  appointment  as  teachers  in  and  for  such  cities  and  to  recom- 
mend to  the  superintendent  for  certification  those  who  pass  the  required  tests  of 
character,  scholarship  and  general  fitness.  Such  board  of  examiners  shall  consist 
of  the  general  superintendent  of  schools,  one  assistant  superintendent  selected  by 
him  and  three  special  examiners  elcetled  by  the  board  of  education  upon  the  nomina- 
tion of  the  superintendent ;  provided,  that  in  the  case  of  a  vacancy,  the  superintendent 
must  nominate  to  the  board  at  least  three  times  as  many  eligible  persons  as  there 
are  vacancies  to  be  filled ;  and  provided,  further,  that  no  person  otherwise  connected 
with  the  school  system  of  the  city  shall  serve  as  special  examiner.  The  terms  of  the 
first  three  special  examiners  so  elected  shall  be  one,  two  and  three  years  respectively, 
and  as  their  term-  expire  their  successors  shall  be  elected  for  a  full  term 

of  three  years  which  shall  thereafter  be  the   full  and  regular  term  of  office  of  said 

238 


examiners.  They  may  be  removed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  all  the  members  of  the 
board,  but  only  for  cause  and  upon  written  charges.  The  special  examiners  shall 
be  paid  such  compensation  as  the  board  of  education  shall  prescribe.  To  be  eligible 
as  a  special  examiner,  an  applicant  must  possess  either  a  bachelor's  degree  from  a 
college  or  university,  or  an  equivalent  educational  training,  together  with  at  least 
five  years'  successful  experience  in  teaching  since  graduation.  This  board  shall  from 
time  to  time  hold  such  examinations  as  the  city  superintendent  may  prescribe  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  board  of  education,  and  shall  certify  to  the  superin- 
tendent for  entry  on  the  various  eligible  lists,  the  names  of  all  who  successfully  pass. 
Except  as  superintendent  or  assistant  superintendent,  as  supervisor  or  director  of  a 
special  branch,  as  principal  in  a  normal  school  or  high  school,  no  person  shall  be 
appointed  whose  name  does  not  appear  upon  the  proper  list  of  eligibles.  The  examin- 
ing board  shall  have  supervision  of  all  examination  for  entrance  and  graduation  from 
the  city  normal  school,  and  the  genera!  supervision  under  the  direction  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  all  examinations  in  the  public  schools  of  such  city. 

Sec.  32.  Said  board  of  education  shall  for  the  purposes  of  school  inspection  divide 
the  city  into  special  inspection  districts,  each  of  which  districts  shall  include  not  more 
than  ten  schools,  and  shall  appoint  for  each  inspection  district  a  committee  of  six 
commissioners  who  shall  be  residents  of  the  district  and  who  shall  serve  without 
compensation.  The  terms  'of  the  commissioners  first  appointed  on  each  committee 
shall  be  for  two  members  one  year,  for  two  members  two  years  and  for  two  members 
three  years,  and  as  their  terms  respectively  expire  their  successors  shall  be  appointed 
for  the  full  term  of  three  years,  which  shall  thereafter  be  the  full  and  regular  term  of 
office  of  said  commissioners.  Said  commissioners  are  hereby  authorized  and  directed 
to  visit  each  school  of  the  respective  districts,  to  observe  in  detail  the  work  and  equip- 
ment of  each  school  and  its  teaching  and  discipline  and  the  sanitary  and  other 
arrangements  of  the  school  building,  and  to  make  reports  as  a  committee  direct  to  the 
board  of  education.  Said  board  of  education  shall  have  power  to  appoint  an  inspector 
with  such  assistants  as  may  be  needed  to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  recom- 
mendations of  each  committee  of  resident  commissioners ;  but  the  inspector  and 
assistants  shall  not  be  otherwise  connected  with  the  school  system. 

Sec.  S3.  All  contracts  to  be  entered  into  by  or  in  behalf  of  the  said  board  of 
education  in  connection  with  the  erection  and  repair  of  school  buildings  or  the 
purchasing  of  supplies,  when  the  expense  thereof  shall  exceed  the  sum  of  $200, 
shall  be  let  to  the  lowest  responsible  bidder  in  the  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  the 
rules  and  regulations  of  the  board.  All  of  such  contracts  shall  be  signed  by  the 
president  of  the  board  of  education,  or  in  his  absence,  by  such  other  officer  as  the  board 
may  designate  and  shall  be  attested  by  the  secretary  of  such  board.  The  board  of 
education  shall  have  power  by  its  by-laws  to  prescribe  the  period  of  all  advertising 
for  contracts  to  be  entered  into  by  or  on  behalf  of  said  board,  the  rules  which  are  to 
determine  the  acceptance  or  rejection  of  all  bids  given  for  any  work,  labor  or 
materials  advertised  for,  and  the  security  to  be  required  to  insure  the  performance  of 
such  contract. 

Sec.  34.  For  the  purpose  of  securing  a  better  enforcement  of  any  compulsory 
education  law  now  existing  or  which  may  hereafter  be  enacted,  it  is  hereby  made  the 
duty  of  all  police  officers  of  such  city  to  give  assistance  to  the  board  of  education  in 
that  behalf,  and  particularly  to  question  any  boy  or  girl  under  fourteen  (14)  years 
of  age  who  is  found  frequenting  the  streets  of  the  city  during  school  hours  and  at 

239 


the  time  not  under  parental  control,  and  if  such  child  is  a  truant,  to  report  the  case 
to  the  proper  officers  of  the  board  of  education,  and  to  give  to  such  officers  any  and 
all  information  at  their  disposal  relating  to  such  cases. 

Sec.  35.  All  acts  and  parts  of  acts  inconsistent  with  this  act,  and  all  provisions 
of  any  special  city  charters  relating  to  schools  in  cities  of  over  100,000  inhabitants 
are  hereby  repealed,  but  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  as  repealing  an 
act  entitled.  "An  Act  to  Provide  for  the  Formation  and  Disbursement  of  a  Public 
School  Teachers'  and  Public  School  Employes'  Pension  and  Retirement  Fund,  in 
Cities  Having  a  Population  Exceeding  100,000  Inhabitants,"  approved  May  21st,  1895, 
and  in  force  July  1st,  1895. 


ADVISERS  TO  THE  CHICAGO  EDUCATIONAL  COMMISSION. 

The  following  gentlemen  kindly  consented  to  act  as  advisers  to  the  commission, 
and  by  personal  interview  or  by  letter  rendered  much  valuable  service  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  report. 

F.  L.  Buss,  Principal,  High  School,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Richard  Boone,  President,  Normal  School,  Ypsilanti,  Mich. 

Edward  Brooks,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Elmer  E.  Brown,  University  of  California. 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  Columbia  University. 

James  H.  Canfield,  President,  Ohio  State  University. 

John  W.  Cook,  President,  Illinois  State  Normal  University. 

Charles  DeGarmo,  Cornell  University. 

N.  C.  Dougherty,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Peoria,  Ills. 

Andrew  S.  Draper,  President,  University  of  Illinois. 

William  L.  Dudley,  Vanberbilt  University. 

Larkin  Dunton,  Principal,  Boston  Normal  School. 

S.  T.  Dutton,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Brookline,  Mass. 

Warren  Easton,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  Orleans,  La. 
^*  Charles  W.  Eliot,  President,  Harvard  University. 

D.  W.  Fisher,  President,  Hanover  College. 

C.  B.  Gilbert,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Daniel  C.  Gilman,  President,  Johns  Hopkins  University. 

Aaron  Gove,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Denver,  Colo. 

J.  M.  Greenwood,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 
^»  William  T.  Harris,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education. 

Edward  L.  Harris,  Principal,  High  School,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
— -  Paul  H.  Hanus,  Harvard  University. 

W.  N.  Hailman,  Superintendent  of  Indian  Schools,  Washington,  D.  C. 
.-*  G.  Stanley  Hall,  President,  Clark  University. 

Charles  D.  Hine,  Secretary,  State  Board  of  Education,  Connecticut. 

B.  A.  Hinsdale,  University  of  Michigan. 

James  L.  Hughes,  Supervisor  of  Schools,  Toronto,  Canada. 

Ray  Greene  Huling,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

John  Jasper,  Superintendent  of  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx,  New  York  City.  N.  Y. 

Richard  H.  Jesse,  President,  University  of  Missouri. 

L.  H.  Jones,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
#     David  Starr  Jordan,  President,  Leland  Stanford,  jr.,  University. 

241 


D.  L.  Kiehle,  University  of  Minnesota. 

Henry  M.  Leipziger,  Assistant  Superintendent,  New  York  City.  N.  Y. 
Seth  Low,  President.  Columbia  University. 

E.  O.  Lyte,  Principal.  State  Normal  Scliool,  Millersburg,  Pa. 
James  M.u  Alister,  President,  Drexol  Institute. 

WILLIAM  II.  Maxwell,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  York  City.  N.  Y. 

W.  H.  Morgan,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

J.  H.  Phillips,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Birmingham,  Ala. 

George  M.  Philips,  Principal,  State  Normal  School,  West  Chester,  Pa. 

William  B.  Powell,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Henry  Saiun,  Ex-State  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Iowa. 

Edwin  P.  Seaver.  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Boston,  Mass. 

J.  G.  Schurman,  President,  Cornell  University. 

Charles  R.  Skinner,  State  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Iowa. 

James  Henry  Smart,  President,  Purdue  University. 

F.  Louis  Soldan,  Superintendent  of  Schools.  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Thomas  B.  Stockwell,  State  Superintendent  of  Instruction.  Rhode  Island. 

C.  F.  Thwixg,  President,  Western  Reserve  University. 

Arnold  Tompkins,  University  of  Illinois. 

E.  E.  White,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Henry  A.  Wise,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Baltimore,  Md. 


ERRATA 


On  page  237   in   lines  37   and  44  the  words 
"two-thirds"  should  read  "majority." 


Jnticv  of  J9amcj8. 


Ailing,  Charles,  vii,  xvi. 
Alton,  Geo.  B.,  102. 
American,  Sadie,  221,  222. 
Andrews,  E.  Benjamin,  99. 
Association    of    Public    School    Kinder- 
gartners,  96. 

Balliet,  Thomas  M.,  38. 

Bartlett,  George  H.,  148. 

Beale,  William  G.,  ix,  16,  17. 

Bibb,  Grace  C,  233. 

Bicknell,  Thomas  W.,  147.  148. 

Blewett,  Ben,  233. 

Bliss,  F.  L.,  241. 

Blodgett,  Mary  M.,  96. 

Bluthardt,  Theodore  J.,  163,  164. 

Boone,  Richard  G.,  241. 

Boykin,  James  C.,  4,  18,  35. 

Brand,  Rudolph,  vii,  xvi. 

Brooks,  Edward,  114,  241. 

Brown,  Elmer  E.,  241. 

Brown,  George  S..  233. 

Butler.  Nicholas  Murray.  4.  7.  10,  42,  62, 

63.  67,  70,  72,  73,  115.  120,  121,  122, 

241. 

Cabeen.  C.  W.,  233. 

Calkins.  N.  A.,  37,  233. 

Canfield,  James  H.,  241. 

Cameron,  D.  R.,  10,  26,  28,  32,  40,  45,  46. 

74,  79,  107,  108,  139,  153- 
Chicago       Association       of       Collegiate 

Alumnae,  137. 
Cook,  John  W.,  114,  120,  121,  241. 
Colegrove,  Chauncey  P.,  176. 
Committee  of  Fifteen,  viii,  4,  6,  7,  10,  12, 

13,  26,  27,  39,  41,  42,  43,  47,  69,  70, 

84,  85,  86,  91,  94,  119,  120,  i2i,  123, 

124,  125,  135,  232. 
Coste,  Paul  F„  14. 
Corwith,  Charles  R.,  vii,  xvi. 
Cleveland,  Grover,  176. 
Crouse,  Mrs.  J.  N.,  193. 

Dewey,  Edmund  S.,  181. 
De  Garmo,  Charles,  241. 
Dickinson,  John  W.,  233. 


Dougherty,  N.  C,  241. 
Draper,  Andrew  S.,  3,  4,  10,  18,  22,  23,  25, 
26,  27,  34,  35,  37,  38,  39,  40,   166, 

Duddleston,  George,  vn,  xvi. 
Dudley,  William  L.,  93,  241. 
Dunton,  Larkin,  241. 
Dutton,  S.  T.,  14,  76,  86,  87,  123,  130.  131. 
133,  134,  163,  241. 

Easton,  Warren,  67,  68,  241. 

Eby,  Frederick,   130,  135,   136. 

Ella  F.  Young  Club,  54,  9°,  93,  127,  129. 

130,  138,  145,  155,  172,  173. 
Eliot,  Charles  W.,  84,  85,  241. 
Errant,  Joseph  W.,  12,  14,  232. 
Every  Day  Club,  137,  155,  156,  163. 

Fisher,  D.  W.,  241. 
Fitzpatrick,  Frank  A.,  23,  25. 
Forshay,  James  A.,  130. 
French,  Charles  W.,  227. 

George  Rowland  Club,  48,  50,  53,  54,  73, 
77,  78,  90,  107,  133,  135,  155,  163, 
172,  173- 

Gibson,  John,  232. 

Gilbert,  Charles  B.,  95,  96,  131,  136,  137, 
241. 

Giles,  William  A.,  175,  176,  177,  178. 

Gilman,  Daniel  C,  241. 

Gove,  Aaron,  241. 

Greenwood.  J.  M.,  241. 

Gresham,  Otto,  ix. 

Hadley,  Hiram,  232. 

Mailman.  W.  N.,  241. 

Hall,  G.  Stanley,  2,  114,  241. 

Halle,  E.  G.,  17,  27,  36,  63,  98,  99,   107, 

no,  in,  171.  172,  175- 
Hammond,  Jason  E.,  181. 
Hancock,  John,  100,  233. 
Hanus.  Paul  H.,  241. 
Harris,  Edward  L.,  241. 
Harris.  William  T.,  19.  38,  39-  74.  75.  233, 

241. 
Harrison,  Carter  H,  vii. 


243 


Harrison,  Elizabeth,  192,  195. 

Harper,  William  R.,  vii,  viii,  xvi. 

Hart,  Albert  Bushnell,  168. 

Hewett,  E.  C,  233. 

Hill,  Charles  W.,  162,  163. 

Hine,  Paul  D.,  241. 

Hinsdale,  B.  A.,  44,  241. 

Howland,  George,  46,  85,  101. 

Hughes,  James  L.,  241. 

Huling,  Ray  Greene,  87,  130,  241. 

Hunter,  Thomas,  233. 

Jackman.  Wilbur  S.,  87,  88. 

James,  Edmund  J.,  150,  151,  192,  I9S.  208. 

James,  George  F.,  viii,  xvi. 

Jasper,  John,  241. 

Jesse,  Richard  H.,  241. 

Jones,  L.  H.,  241. 

Jordan,  David  Starr,  44,  46,  69,  74,  241. 

Kennedv,  John,  37. 
Kiehle,  D.  L.,  85,  233,  242. 
Kirchner,  A.  H.,  181,  182. 
Kohtz,  Louis  O.,  vii,  xvi. 

Lane,  A.  G.,  39.  46,  79,  93,  94,  "7.  LS9, 

163. 
Leipziger.  Henry  M.,  218,  242. 
Loesch.  Frank  J.,  ix. 
Long.  E.  H.,  233. 
Low.  Seth,  43,  44,  62,  143,  242. 
Lyte,  E.  O.,  242. 

MacAlister,  James,  166,  242. 

Macintosh.  May,  233. 

Mack,  WilliamS.,  38,  40,  41,  42. 

Mair,  Charles  A.,  vii,  xvi. 

Marble,  Albert  P..  8,  25,  37,  39,  40,  44, 

148. 
Marvel,  L  H.,  233. 
Maxwell,  W.  H.,  36,  43,  47,  51,  52,  242. 
Mayo,  A.  D.,  233. 
McDowell.  Mary,  221. 
McLaren,  John,  27. 
McPherson,  Simon  J.,  vii,  xvi. 
Milliken.  O.  J.,  222. 
Morgan,  W.  H..  242. 
Morrill,  Donald  L.,  ix,  9,   10.  13,   15,   16, 

231. 
Morton,  A.,  109,  153. 
Mowry,  William  A..  109,  no,  233. 
Munson.  A.  F.,  136. 
Myers.  Ida  Gilbert,  121. 

Nettlehorst,  Louis,  3,  8,  9,  79. 
Nightingale,  A.  F.,  105. 


Payne,  W.  H.,  233. 

Peabodv.  Elizabeth  P.,  233. 

Philbrick,  John  D.,  2,  3,  24,  36,  37,  114, 

115,  116,  123,  127,  128. 
Phillips,  J.  H.,  52,  93,  242. 
Philips,  George  Morris,  10,  242. 
Pickard.  J.  L,  5,  8,  10,  11,  12,  17,  36,  46, 

47,  88,  89,  90,  233. 
Pinkham,  George  Ripley,  232. 
Powell,  William  B.,  166,  242. 
Principals,  High  School,  Chicago,  46. 
Prince,  John  T.,  232,  233. 

Ray,  John  T.,  227. 

Rogers,  Bernard  F.,  vii,  xvi. 

Rosenthal,  James,  ix. 

Sabin,  Henry,  49,  55,  67,  96,  105,  112,  154. 

155,  182,  242. 
Schurman,  J.  G..  242. 
Seaver,  Edwin  P..  119,  163,  164,  242. 
Shearer,  William  J.,  94,  95. 
Shepherd.  Henry  E.,  232 
Shirreff,  E.,  233. 
Singer,  Edgar  A.,  156,  157,  158,  159,  161. 

162. 
Skinner,  Charles  R.,  242. 
Small.  Albion  W.,  174,  175,  177,  178. 
Smart,  James  Henrv,  242. 
Snyder,  C.  B.  J.,  183,  184. 
Soldan,  F.  Louis,  13,  14,  242. 
Story,  Allan  C,  7,  16. 
Stockwell,  Thomas  B.,  63,  242. 
Stolz,  Joseph,  vii.  xvi. 

Tappan,  Ely,  233. 
Tarbell,  Horace  S.,  41,  42. 
Thompson.  Charles  O.,  233. 
Thurston,  Henry  W.,  177,  178,  179. 
Thwing,  C.  F.,  242. 
Tompkins,  Arnold,  242. 
Tucker.  William  J.,  232. 

Vandewalker.  Nina  C,  95,  122. 

Walker,  Charles  M.,  vii,  xvi. 
Waterman,  Richard,  Jr.,  221. 
Webster.  William  Clarence,  160. 
White.  E.  E..  2,  4,  14.  25,  41,  43,  233,  242 
Williams,  Frederick  Newton.  133. 
Wise.  Henry  A..  114,  242. 
Woodward/C.  M.,  233. 

Yeager,  R.  L,  3,  8.  17.  18.  24. 

Zueblin.  Charles,  222. 


244 


Sutler  of  ^ubicct& 


Accommodations,  School,  see  School  Ac- 
commodations. 
Academic  Study  in  the  Normal  School, 

124. 
Architect,  Selection  of,  21,  28. 
Architecture,  School,  180-184. 

Sanitary  Principles  in,  180,  182,  183. 
Variety  in,  180,  182. 
Assistant  Superintendents,  32,  33,  4Q,  50, 

237- 
Appointed  by   Superintendent,   32,  45- 

47,  237- 
Duties  of,  49.  50,  54,  55- 
More  Needed  in  Chicago,  49. 

Bibliographical      References      on      City 

School  Systems,  232. 
Board  of  Education. 

Appointment  of,  by  the  Mayor,  5-9, 234. 
Committees  of  the,  15,  23,  25. 

School  Management  by,  xii,  xiii,  23. 
Duties  of  a,  1,  13-15,  235. 
Legal  Status  of  the  Chicago,  230,  235. 
Members  of  a,  to  Represent  the  Whole 

City,  xiii,  4,  5. 
Methods  of  Selecting  a,  2-5. 
Non-Partisan,  Necessity  of  a,  3-8. 
Number  of  Members,  9-1 1,  23,  234. 
Powers  of  a,  xiii,  15-19,  235. 
President  of.  Election  and  Duties,  235, 

237- 
Qualifications  for  Membership  on  a,  8. 

234. 
Removal  of  Members,  18,  234. 
Salary  for  Members  of  a,  II. 
Secretary  of,  237. 
Title  for  Members  of  the  Chicago,  20, 

234- 
Term  of  Office  of  Members,  1,  12,  234. 
Buildings.  School. 

Architecture  of,  180-184. 

Difficulty  of  Securing,  in  Chicago,  xii. 

171. 

Fire-Proof  Construction  in,  183. 
Fuller  Use  of,  150. 
More,  Needed  in  Chicago,   171- 173. 
Repair  of,  29. 

By  Contract,  239. 
Sanitary  Principles  in,  183. 


Business  Manager. 

Appointment  of,  21,  26,  238. 

Bond  of,  22,  31. 

Duties  of,  xvi,  28-31,  238. 

In  St.  Louis,  29. 
Janitors  Appointed  by,  xiv,  30,  238. 
Necessity  of  a,  27,  28. 
Removal  of,  21,  28,  238. 
Salary  of  the,  26. 
Term  of  Office,  28,  238. 

Census,  School. 
Method  of  Taking,  170. 
Unsatisfactory,  in  Chicago,  169. 
Chicago   School   System,  Outline  State- 
ment Showing  the  Growth  of  the. 
191. 
City  Council  and  the  Board  of  Education, 

xii,  1,  4,  16,  171. 
Civics  in  the  Public  Schools,  174-179.  236. 
Syllabus  for  Teachers  of,  178. 
Text-Books   for  Instruction  in.   Lack- 
ing,  176. 
Civil  Service  Rules  for  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, 31,  236. 
Commercial  High  School,  107.  208. 
Course  of  Study  for  a,  108,  109,  216. 
Power  to  Establish  a,  236. 
Commercial  Training  in  Europe,  205 
Commission,  Educational,  of  Chicago,  vii. 
Compulsory  Attendance. 

Illinois  Law   for,   Unsatisfactory,    161. 

239. 
Laws  in  Other  States,  223. 
Parental  Schools  and,  160- T64,  225. 
Condemnation,    Power    of,    for    School 

Purposes,  xiii,  1,  15,  236. 
Contract.    School    Repairs    and    Supplies 

by,  28.  239. 
Constructive    Work  in    the    Elementary 
Schools,  T29-133,  T35- 
By  Regular  Teachers,  137. 
Course  of  Study. 
Domestic  Science  in  the.  129.  13?. 
Elementary  School,  Ill-Arranged.  85. 

86. 
Enrichment  of  the.  87. 
Manual   Training  High   School,   to   Be 
Extended.  112. 


245 


Need  of  Revision  of  the,  xiv. 
Normal  School,  to  Be  Extended,  i  [9. 
Under  Committee  Management,   \ii. 

Departmental  (instruction,  55,  125. 
Discipline,  School. 

See  Pupils.  Government  by. 
Domestic  Science. 

In  the  Elementary  Schools.  129.  1,35. 

In  the  Manual  Training  High  Schools, 
in,  112. 

Instruction   in,   by   Regular  Teachers, 

Drawing  jn  1  he  Chicago  Schools,  129.  133. 
Under  One  Supervisor,  138. 

Education,  Waste  in,  84,  201. 
Educational  Commission  of  Chicago,  vii. 
Elementary  Schools. 

See  Schools,  Elementary. 
England.  Commercial  Training  in,  207. 
Evening  Schools. 

Course  of  Study  in,  149. 

Functions  of,  147-150. 

Power  to  Establish,  for  Adults,  23;. 

Superintendent  of,  Recommended,  147, 
149. 
Examination  of  Teachers, 

Different  Methods  of,  61. 

By  Superintendent.  62. 

By  Separate  Board,  63. 
Examining  Board, 

Appointment  of,  Recommended.  58,  62, 
238. 

In  New  York  City,  62. 

Normal  School  and  the.  72. 

Qualifications  for  Membership  on,   72, 
239- 

To  Supervise  School  Work,  72. 

'I'm  Tesl  Teachers  for  Promotion,  72. 

Faculties  and  Councils,  School,  xv,   167- 

168. 
France,  Commercial  Training  in,  205. 
Free  Evening  Lecture  System. 

Necessity  of,  150. 

New  York  City,  218. 

Power  to  Establish  in  Chicago,  237. 

German  in  the  Elementary  Schools.   [31. 
Instruction    in.   by   Regular   Teachers, 

1.17- 
Germany,   Commercial   Training  in.    108, 

206. 
Growth    of   the    Chicago    Public    School 

System,  101. 

I  [igh  Schools,  98-112. 
Commercial,  Recommerided,  107-111. 
Course  of  Study  in,  103. 


246 


Evening,  149. 
Functions  of,  99-103. 
Longer  Session  in,  106. 
Manual  Training,  in  Chicago,  in,  112. 
Men  Teachers  in,  106. 
Qualifications  of  Teachers  in,  103. 
Salaries  of  Teachers,  188. 
Teaching  Force  in  Chicago,  Deficient, 
104,  105. 

Inspectors,  School,  Duties  of,  57,  143. 
Instruction,  Public,   Per  Capita  Cost  of, 

in  American  Cities,  190. 
Italy,  Commercial  Training  in.  205. 

Janitors, 

Appointment  of,  30. 

Supervision  of  by  Principals,  55. 
John  Crerar  School,  Self-Government  by 
Pupils  in,  227. 

Kindergartens, 

Arguments  for  Public,  195. 
More  Needed  in  Chicago,  xv,  95. 
Power  to  Establish  Public,  236. 
Salaries  in,  193. 
Teachers,  Training  of,  122,  193. 

Latin  in  the  Elementary  Schools,  130. 
Law,  Compulsory,  see  Compulsory  Law. 

New  School,  for  Illinois,  xvi,  234. 
Lay  Element  in  School  Supervision,  139- 

143,  239. 
Lectures,  Free  Evening,   150. 

In  Chicago.  151. 

In  New  York,  151,  218. 

See  also.  Free  Lecture  System. 
Leipsic  Public  School  of  Commerce,  206. 

Manual  Training, 

Accommodations  for.   180,   182. 
High     Schools,     Additional,     Recom- 
mended, in. 
Power  to  Establish,  237. 
In  the  Elementary  Schools,  129-133. 
Mayor.  Selection  of  Board  of  Education 

by  the.  5-9,  234. 
Music  in  the  Chicago  Schools.  133,  135. 
Under  One  Supervisor,  138. 

Nature  Study. 

Tn  the  Elementary  Schools,  132. 

In  Vacation  Schools,  152. 
New  York  City. 

Free  Lecture  System  of,  151,  218. 

New  School  Buildings  of,  183. 

School        Veommodations      in,       De- 
ficient. 171. 

School  Problem  in,  65. 


Normal  School, 

Admission  to,  Conditions  of.  116,  118. 
Course  of  Study,  119,   125. 

To  be  Lengthened  in  Chicago,  120. 
Kindergarten  Training  in,  122,  204. 
Location  of  Chicago,  127. 
More  Buildings  for,  in  Chicago,  126. 
Physical  Examination  for  Admission, 

113,  n8. 
Power  to  Establish  a,  237. 
Practice    and    Observation,     Facilities 

for.  in,  123,  127-8. 
Supervision  of  Graduates  of,  126. 

Parental  School,  160-164,  225. 

Power  to  Establish,  237. 
Paris,  Commercial  Schools  in.  205. 
Physical    Culture    in    Chicago    Schools, 

133,  135- 

Accommodations  for,  180,  182. 

Under  One  Supervisor,  138. 
Play-Grounds,  City, 

School-Yards  as,  xv,  155,  222. 
Politics,  City,  in  School  Affairs,  3,  4. 
Principals,  School. 

Appointment  of,  45. 

Duties  of,  51. 

Freedom  of,  54. 

Privileges  of,  in  Selecting  Teachers,  53. 

Qualifications  of,  53. 

Teaching  by,  56. 
Promotion, 

Of  Teachers,  74,  75. 

Conditions   of,   in   New   York   City. 
189. 

Semi-Annual.  of  Pupils,  82,  88-90,  93. 
Pupils,  Government  by,  177,  227. 

Resident  Commissioners, 

Appointment  of,   xv,    139,   239. 
Duties  of,  142. 

Popular  Representation  Through,  140. 
Provided  in  New  York,  141. 

Salaries, 

Comparative  Schedule  of,  187. 

Ill-Proportioned  in  Chicago,  76. 
School  Accommodations, 

Inadequate  in  Chicago,  xiii,  98,  171-173. 
School  Buildings, 

Fire-Proof  Construction  of,  180. 

Special  Architecture  of,  182. 
School  Census,  see  Census. 
Schools,  Elementary, 

Course  of  Study  in  Chicago,  82-93. 

Domestic  Science  in,  129.  136. 

Drawing  in,  129,  133.  138. 

.Manual  Training  in,  92.  130. 


Schools,  Evening,  see  Evening  Schools. 
School      Faculties     and     Councils,      see 

Faculties. 
Schools,  High,  see  High  Schools. 
School   Supplies,   Purchase  of    by    Con- 
tract, 2^. 
Secretary  of  Board  of  Education,  237. 
Sites,  School, 

Danger  from  Ill-Chosen,  34. 

Modify  School  Architecture,  180. 
Special    Studies,    see    Drawing,    Manual 
Training,  Music,  etc. 

General  Supervision  of,  50. 

Instruction   in,   by   Regular   Teachers. 
137- 

Value  of,  130-136. 
Superintendent, 

Appointment  of,  33,  35,  237. 

Duties  of,  43-48,  237. 

Larger  Powers  for  the,  xiv. 

Qualifications  of,  37. 

Relation  to  the  Board  of  Education.  41. 

Removal  of  the,  32,  42. 

Salary  of  the,  32,  42. 

Seat  on  the  Board  for,  48. 
Supervision,  School, 

By  Inspectors,  57. 

By  Resident  Commissioners,  139. 

By  Superintendent,  43. 
Supervisors, 

Appointment  of,  by  Superintendent,  45. 

To  Have  Complete  Charge  of  the  Sev- 
eral Subjects,  50. 


Tax  Levy  for  School   Purposes  by  the 

Board  of  Education,  17-19. 
Teachers, 

Appointment    of,    by    Superintendent, 
xiv,  45-6o,  65,  237. 
Provisional,  for  Two  Years,  73. 
Separate  from  Examination,  62. 
Certificates  from  Superintendent,  48. 
Conditions  of  Admission   for,  in  Chi- 
cago, 65-71. 
Dismissal  of,  45,  81. 
Examination  of,  61,  71,  72. 
Force  in  Chicago,  xi.  xiii. 
Institutes,  xiv,  165. 
Library,  xiv,  165,  166. 
More  Men,   Needed  in  Chicago,  78-80. 
Number  of,  in  Chicago,  (>o,  191. 
Physical  Examination  of,  xiv,  07. 
Promotion  of,  74.  75. 

In  New  York  City,  189. 
Salary  Schedule, 
In  Chicago,  xiv,  63,  76,  78. 
In  New  York  City,  189. 
Training  of,  xiv,  65. 


247 


Text-Books, 

Choice  of,  by  Superintendent.  40,  44 
Revision  of  List  in  Chicago,  xii,  xiv 

144. 
Use  of,  by  Teachers,  146. 

Training  for  Citizenship.  174,  179,  236. 

Truant  Schools,  see  Parental  Schools. 


Vacation  Schools,  221. 
Course  of  Study  in.  154. 
Established  in  Chicago,  155. 
Need  of,   in  Large  Cities,   xiv.   52-54. 

221. 
Power  of  Board  of  Education  to  Open. 
237- 
Venice,  Commercial  School  of.  205. 


Ungraded  Rooms  and  Schools.  Functioi 
of,  156-159- 


Wards.     Election 
by,  2. 


of     School     Trustees 


248 


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